


midnight flower

by beneaththemask125



Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE
Genre: Chaebol Drama, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, False Identity, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, very messy rich family drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:35:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 46,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28177737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beneaththemask125/pseuds/beneaththemask125
Summary: Soojin had a feeling this assignment was going to be much more complicated than she originally planned. But she always liked a challenge.
Relationships: Seo Soojin/Yeh Shuhua
Comments: 124
Kudos: 285





	1. Flowers for a Funeral

This was the third funeral Soojin had gone to this year.

She actually preferred them to weddings, since people asked much less questions when they were grieving. At weddings, she was usually overwhelmed with queries from her client's families.

_“Where did you two meet?”_

_“Any wedding plans in the future?”_

_“Is that a baby bump I see?”_

She was a professional, so she always answered the questions the exact way the person wanted, as it was her job to please. In the early years it pulled at her heart a bit when she had to lie to kind grandmothers about non-existent wedding plans and baby names. Nowadays, the lies came easier than truths.

Her clients came in all types, and she was trained to read them right away. The most empathetic were the ones who desperately wanted to fit into society. The closeted sons who wanted to show off their female fiancées to their judgemental parents. The single fathers who didn’t want their children to look like outcasts on Mother’s Day. Others used her to fill the emptiness in their lives. Older married women who were desperate for a friend. Grandfathers who missed their late wives and wanted to have someone to talk to during dinner. These were the type of clients Soojin had during the majority of the time. Humans were the loneliest species, she believed, and it was her job to fill in the blanks in people’s lives. These types of clients could usually only afford one or two days of her time, but there were so many of them that she never had to wait long for a new assignment.

The worst clients were always the richest. The ones who didn’t even try to pretend to be charming or suave, who thought that paying for Soojin’s time somehow meant they owned her. If she had a choice, their requests wouldn’t even pass by the front desk, but her company cared more about money than for their workers. These types of men mostly hired her to impress their business partners or trick themselves into thinking any woman would want to spend time with them. Even with all their wealth and power, they were still pathetic, lonely men. She was lucky her company automatically blacklisted any client who requested anything sexual—because not all companies did—but that didn’t keep the rich clients from trying. Luckily, she hadn’t had to deal with one of those clients for quite a while due to her senior standing at the company.

Soojin was awoken from her thoughts as the limo reached it final destination and the driver opened the door for her. She was dressed in all black, more conservative than usual but still stylish. There was a growing crowd outside of the funeral hall, as expected, and Soojin took a deep breath before she walked forward into the flashing lights. The paparazzi tried their best to get clear shots of her face, but the bodyguards that surrounded her did a fine job of blocking their cameras.

Her new client was an enigma. They had only met briefly a week ago during the intake meeting, but Soojin had sensed that there was much more to the man than he had revealed.

Park Sungho was young, only a few years older than herself. He was handsome in the way only someone with wealth and pedigree could be. He seemed like someone who had never had to work hard in his entire life. He said he had studied abroad in Europe for most of his life, and had only returned to Korea recently when his father first fell sick. He said he had hoped to stay in Europe and start his own winery, but his father wished for him to take over the family conglomerate after he passed. His mother was a famous actress who had a contentious divorce with his father when he was ten. He had a younger half-sister that he was close to.

And his father, one of the richest men in Korea, had died two days before their meeting.

As Sungho explained, his reason for hiring her as his fiancée was due to the extreme pressure his mother put on him to get married. He only needed her to pretend for a few months as he sorted out his family matters before he would return to Europe. Soojin wondered why such a rich and handsome man needed a faux fiancée instead of having a real one, but she guessed that he perhaps already had a lover or two back in Europe that his family would probably disapprove of.

Her current identity was as Soojin Kwon, a successful fashion photographer born to expat parents in Paris and currently residing in Florence, Italy. In her experience, sometimes the more elaborate and specific the background story was, the less people would question her. Especially rich people, who flocked to stories of foreign glamour like moths to a flame.

Soojin had lost track of how many different identities she had taken on over the years. No matter the background, she fit into the role naturally every time. A professional, through and through.

The funeral hall was covered in flowers that probably cost more than two years of rent in downtown Seoul. They made the whole hall smell sickly sweet, like they were trying to hide the smell of death. Soojin never understood rich people’s obsession with flowers. Why pay thousands for something that would only fade away in a few days?

Someone clever could say the same about her job, Soojin thought, but she liked to think that her clients’ memories of her didn’t wilt so easily. 

Soojin made her way into the private funeral space, walking towards the mourning party at the entrance. A line formed as each guest greeted the family. As the eldest son, Sungho was assigned to be the chief mourner, a position that almost always crushed the soul of the person who had to carry out the duties. Despite his flawless skin and makeup, even Soojin could see the dark circles forming under her ‘fiancée’s’ eyes as he greeted dozens of Seoul’s richest with no rest in sight. The rest of the family beside him didn’t stand out enough for her to care. Uncles, male cousins, close business partners. No one of particular interest.

Sungho’s eyes lit up when it was Soojin’s time to greet the family.

“You’re finally here.”

Sungho took both her hands in his own, an easy display of intimacy that cut through the formality of the occasion. Normally, chief mourners weren’t allowed this sort of positive expression during the funeral, but rich people loved to flaunt the rules. His hands were cold, just like his gaze. He was putting on a show for the family members beside him, and Soojin quickly joined in.

“Of course, _amore mio_. I made sure to catch the first flight from Florence when I heard the news.”

She squeezed his hands as her face showed tender care and affection. Sungho’s face stayed neutral, but Soojin noticed the impressed look in his eyes as she lied. He must have doubted her skills beforehand, as many did. Soojin always proved them wrong.

“My mother requested that you help the other women with the food and refreshments. As a new member of our family.”

“I would love to.”

Sungho smiled at her before bringing one of her hands to his mouth, laying a chivalrous kiss on the back of her knuckles.

Sungho’s kiss lingered on Soojin’s hand as he moved onto the next guest. Soojin could feel the other family members’ eyes on her, and she made sure to stay cool and chic as she went to join the female family members.

After paying her respects to the deceased, Soojin flitted through the crowd to the kitchen in the back. Some guests were rehashing old stories about this and that with old friends, but the majority of guests Soojin passed were shamelessly gossiping. Not even the dour mood of a funeral can close the mouths of those who live to put others under their feet, Soojin thought.

The kitchen was bustling with funeral staff and most of the female family members.

One of the women quickly caught her eye.

Sungho had shown her about a dozen profiles during their first meeting, but Soojin didn’t need one to tell that this was his mother, the former star actress Choi Taeha. Her aura stood out among the women in the room. She was tall and graceful, and it was obvious where Sungho got his good looks and charm from. Soojin could already predict that Taeha was going to be the most difficult part of her current assignment. She was going to be a tricky one to fool.

“Soojin!” The older woman waved her over with a bright smile, a smile most wouldn’t exactly say was appropriate during the funeral of her ex-husband. All eyes were on them as Soojin made her way towards the stunning woman. Taeha didn’t seem to care, however, and gave Soojin a tight hug that seemed to be more of a display of power than a friendly greeting. This was their first meeting ever, but the woman acted like they were old friends. Soojin realized that she wasn’t the only talented actress here as Taeha took her hands and put on a show. Like mother, like son.

“Sungho has told me so much about you, but you are so much more beautiful than he could describe!”

“Oh, thank you so much, _eomeonim_. And I’m very sorry for your loss.” Soojin said with a respectful bow. Soojin could tell that Taeha was the type who wanted to be at the top of the food chain, so she planned to be deferential and obedient. She would be the perfect daughter-in-law until Sungho returned to Europe.

“Respectful too…I’m impressed. Where did Sungho manage to find a girl like you?” Taeha said with a raised brow.

Soojin was about to answer, her entire false biography at the tip of her tongue, when the older woman instead waved her away.

“Actually, we’ll have more time to chat later, darling. Unfortunately, there are a few duties I have to take up as my ex-husband’s only living wife.”

Ah yes. Sungho’s profiles briefly mentioned that his father’s second wife died only a few years after they were married. If Soojin recalled correctly, she was a foreigner from a middle-class family, but was well known for her beauty. There was probably much more to the story that Soojin would never find out, but it was intriguing. Maybe she could get more information out of Taeha at their next meeting.

“I look forward to it.” Soojin replied.

“I do as well. In the meanwhile, will you be a dear and prepare the tea for the guests? I need to go greet some impatient shareholders.”

“Yes, of course.”

Just Taeha turned to make her exit, a girl hurried into the kitchen, holding two large empty platters. Her eyes were turned downwards, but Taeha noticed her right away. She beckoned the girl over so she was standing right next to Soojin.

“This is perfect timing! Dear, would you help with the tea?”

It took a moment for the other girl to register Soojin’s presence, but when she glanced over, recognition finally settled on her face.

“Oh, it’s so rude of me not to introduce you to each other! This is my ex-husband’s daughter, Shuhua. I’m sure Sungho has told you much about this little darling.”

Sungho had mentioned his younger half-sister in passing, just as an aside. However, she wasn't listed as a top priority in his profiles. Soojin would have to do more digging herself if she wanted to know more. 

“He has. I am very sorry for your loss, Shuhua-sshi.” Soojin bowed.

“And of course this beauty is Soojin Kwon, your brother’s fiancée. She's a very successful photographer from Europe!”

The other girl didn’t respond, but simply continued staring at Soojin, like she was trying to solve a puzzle.

After introductions, Taeha finally walked out, leaving Soojin alone with the quiet girl— quiet woman, Soojin amended. If she remembered correctly, Shuhua was only a year or two younger than herself, but she had an innocent face that made her look younger.

Soojin wondered how much losing her mother and father at such a young age affected the woman. Right now, Shuhua’s face didn’t betray any deeper pain one would usually have at her own father’s funeral. _Interesting._ This whole family was a complex knot that Soojin couldn’t resist from trying to unravel. Curiosity was her only vice. 

“Should I go get the kettle—" Soojin made a move towards the storage room when the other woman grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks. Her grip was firm and warm.

“I can do it myself.”

Soojin looked back at the woman, their eyes finally meeting.

The glare the other woman gave her was one of utter contempt. Soojin couldn’t remember the last time someone looked at her with so much hate in their eyes. 

_Oh. So it’s like that?_

Shuhua brushed past her, not even sparing a second look. Soojin’s wrist burned from where she had grabbed her.

Soojin had a feeling this assignment was going to be much more complicated than she originally planned. But she always liked a challenge.


	2. White Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soojin falls deeper into the Park family's dynamics. Shuhua defends her territory.

A few days later, Soojin found herself sitting across from Sungho as they took tea in his office. She had finished moving into his guest bedroom for the time being, and he had asked her to join him for an afternoon break. He told her that the Shui Xian tea they were enjoying was the most expensive he could get his hands on, and her presence was worth bringing it out to taste. Soojin found it bitter from being steeped too long, and not even the honey could sweeten it up enough to suit her tastes. Across from her, Sungho looked like he was enjoying it greatly, closing his eyes as he held the cup up to his mouth and inhaled the steam. _Even rich people’s palettes are different than the rest of us_ , Soojin thought bitterly. 

She didn’t say anything about the taste and continued drinking to match Sungho. She took advantage of the lull in the conversation to take a glance around the office.

Sungho had told her that this used to be his late uncle’s office, as his father never gave him his own in their company tower since Sungho lived abroad. Soojin noticed that most of the decorations had been unchanged, with the uncle’s degrees and old family photos still lining the walls. From this she gathered that Sungho must not be a person who cares much about business, despite his fussy appearance. He seemed much more like someone who enjoyed the benefits of business without ever having to work a day in his life.

To further this assumption, she noticed that Sungho had empty coffee cups stacked in the corner of his side table, while old snack wrappers filled the trash bin. Sungho’s desk was covered in dozens of papers waiting for his approval or critique, a messier situation than Soojin would have expected from the son of a late CEO who was well known for his meticulous nature.

Sungho finally put his empty teacup onto the desk with a muffled clink, letting out a sound of satisfaction. He leaned back into his chair, stretching his arms high above his head. He acted more like he was having tea with an old buddy than a stranger he hired to be his pretend fiancée.

“I was impressed by your abilities at the funeral. By the end of the night, even I began to forget that you aren’t actually my fiancée.” He said with a laugh.

“Thank you.” Soojin took another sip of the astringent tea. She could feel it drying out her mouth as she drank it, almost like it was driving her to take another sip just to feel hydrated.

“Those sorts of skills take years to hone, am I correct?” He inquired.

“You are.” Soojin nodded. A pleased smile spread across his face.

“You know, my mother had many kind things to say about you. You’re meeting with her this afternoon, correct?”

“Yes, at three.” Soojin had mentally prepared herself for Taeha all morning, knowing the older woman would probably grill her like an interrogator later that day.

“I’m glad she’s already taken a liking to you. She couldn’t believe that I had found a woman like you and somehow didn’t scare you away.” He said it with a chuckle, but Soojin could sense some history there.

“Have you scared away many women in the past, Sungho-sshi?” Soojin inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“Women…men… I’ve had my share of failed romances in my youth.”

Sungho waited for a surprised reaction from Soojin, but her expression remained unchanged, so he continued.

“By the end of most of my relationships, I think I enjoyed being wanted more than being had. I think it’s just my nature, I guess. Maybe that is something we have in common?”

Soojin hummed, like she was deeply considering his comparison. She could lie, but often the truth was the best way to get more information out of her clients. The best mask was one with a layer of truth behind it.

“I’m not someone who often lets myself be ‘had’ in the first place.”

It wasn’t a lie, and Sungho could tell. He leaned back in his chair again as he laughed at Soojin’s blunt response.

“You didn’t seem the type. I can’t imagine you letting a man limit your freedom.”

He wasn’t wrong. Soojin didn’t have the time for suitors due to the nature of her job, and truthfully, wasn’t even sure how to navigate a relationship that wasn’t formed on a basis of lies and money. But she would never admit that, of course.

“It’s just my nature, I guess.” Soojin repeated Sungho’s words back at him, much to his amusement. He finally leaned forward, crossing his arms on his desk as he settled.

“I find you so fascinating, Soojin-sshi.” Sungho’s gaze met her own, finally trapping her full attention. His eyes were focused and sharp, a quick turn from the relaxed and playful self he had shown only moments before.

“Do you?” Soojin challenged.

“I want to know more about you… to help our little act, of course. It’s only going to get more difficult from here” Soojin understood the curiosity, as Sungho was far from the first client who had tried to get closer, but she could also tell that there was an undercurrent of something else in Sungho’s proposal. It piqued her curiosity.

“There isn’t much to know. Anything you needed to know was in my company profile when you hired me.” Soojin finally finished her tea, putting it down on the mahogany desk with a graceful _tap._ She hoped it was the first and last time she would ever have to drink it.

“You don’t like to speak much, do you?” Sungho said as he glanced towards her empty cup.

Soojin wasn’t one for many words, both in her personal and professional life. She found it easier to stay as much of a blank canvas as possible for her clients. She never had a complaint about it before.

“I prefer listening.”

Sungho looked amused at her answer again, like Soojin was a child who said something droll.

“Lao Tzu did once say ‘ _Silence is a source of great strength._ ’ Do you see yourself as a strong person, Soojin-sshi?”

Soojin had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Sungho’s faux-intellectual façade so obvious that it was almost laughable. Rich men were always like this, quizzing women with silly quotes and useless pieces of information. It was always the ones with no common sense or idea of reality that thought the words of dead philosophers were worth anything. She had to continue playing his game, however, if she wanted this job to be a successful one.

“Machiavelli said, ‘ _Appear as you may wish to be_ ,’ so if I appear to be strong to you, wouldn’t that make me so? I believe ‘ _Fake it until you make it’_ is a common saying in English to express this same sentiment.”

Sungho looked impressed by her knowledge, and Soojin felt a flash of victory as she matched him word for word. She could tell she was beginning to earn his respect.

“You know, some argue that the way we appear to others—our external self—is more real than the way we see ourselves within our hearts, so you might be on to something, Soojin-sshi. And knowing your profession, I’m sure you would agree with the sentiment. Perhaps instead of a single tangible self, all we are is the amalgamation of the ways others view us?”

Soojin took a moment as she thought it over. Sometimes late at night she pondered her own existence as a person with no real identity. Actors often spoke about how their roles would seep into their own lives, changing their personalities for better or worse. For her, she sometimes wasn’t sure that she even had a life that her roles could taint. She was blank slate ready to be overwritten by whatever was necessary that day. For her, ‘self’ was just a thing to be molded and reshaped again and again like clay.

“I think that’s a question only you can answer yourself, Sungho-sshi.” She finally replied, and it looked like he was satisfied with her answer as he hummed in agreement.

Sungho finally leaned back again, the cool and focused look in his eyes disappearing as quickly as it appeared. 

“You know, I think you would very much enjoy speaking with my little sister Shuhua. She has her own unique way of seeing these things that you might fine quite refreshing.”

After their first meeting, Soojin wasn’t sure that Shuhua would ‘very much enjoy’ speaking with her, but the aloofness of the girl was definitely something Soojin was intensely curious about.

“Does she?”

“If I’m correct about you and I sharing the same sort of disenchantment and cynicism with humankind, then I also feel like you would be equally charmed by someone who completely lacks that scepticism. Maybe you two could teach each other a few things, who knows?”

“If you think it would be beneficial for the assignment to get closer to your sister, I can try.”

“It couldn’t hurt to try.” Sungho reasoned.

“What if she doesn’t like me?” Soojin asked. She didn’t want to tell Sungho about the moment they shared at the funeral, so she had to be careful about her questions.

“She will, I have a feeling. And if she doesn’t, just ask her about her dogs. She’s so in love with them that she would probably talk to a rock for hours if she thought it was interested in hearing about her pets.”

Sungho laughed at his own joke before checking his watch. Soojin glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was already almost quarter to three.

“You should get going. My mother doesn’t like to wait.”

* * *

Soojin was escorted to the courtyard of Sungho’s family home, a beautiful and peaceful spot one wouldn’t expect to be in the heart of Seoul. The home was a modern masterpiece of a mansion, and at the heart of it lay Taeha’s garden. The actress was well known to the public as a woman with a green thumb, but Soojin never expected this level of extravagance when she imagined the woman’s garden.

Taeha was standing by a beautiful stained-glass table, arranging a newly cut bouquet as she waited for Soojin to join her. She was wearing a simple white sweater and faded jeans under her green patterned apron, but Soojin had a feeling her outfit cost more than what Soojin made in three months. Even without her expensive shabby chic clothing, Taeha carried herself in a way that no one would mistake her as just another middle-aged woman. She was a star and she made sure others always knew that.

Unlike the meeting of equals between her and Sungho, Soojin immediately knew that she was on lower ground than Taeha. She had to prove herself quickly or be thrown away.

“Soojin! It’s so nice to see you again. How are you doing, dear? Adjusted to the time difference yet?”

Taeha put down her shears before she gave Soojin a welcoming hug. Soojin had been so busy trying to figure out Sungho’s family that she almost forgot she was supposed to have just flown in from Europe a few days ago. Key word _almost_ , because this wasn’t her first rodeo. She immediately got herself back into the groove.

“Thankfully I think I’m finally adjusted now. Sungho and I had a pleasant afternoon tea, so that should help me stay awake as well.”

“That sounds wonderful. I’m so grateful that he has you by his side as he goes through this trying time. Losing a parent is one of life’s greatest difficulties. Despite our complicated relationship, Sungho really adored his father.”

Taeha sounded wistful, her attitude much less upbeat and performative than she had acted at the funeral.

“Again, I am really so sorry for your loss.”

“Save the apologies for my son. He needs them much more than me.” Taeha said with a tight smile that never reached her eyes.

“Enough about that. Tell me about yourself, Soojin. I want to know everything.”

“Where should I begin?” Soojin was content with letting Taeha take control of the conversation, and the older woman seemed eager to do so.

“I’m sure you’ve been asked a million times about your job, so I won’t bother. I’ve done my fair share of fashion photoshoots in my life, so I understand if you would rather skip that tediousness. I’m far more interested in you as a person. How did your parents end up in Europe?”

Soojin almost let out a relieved breath, but she was professional enough to hold it in. This was an easy question.

“My father worked for a large car company and was sent to work at their Paris office after his boss found out that he studied French in university. My mother fell in love with the country, and even after retirement, they decided to stay in France. I lived there until I graduated university and moved to Florence for work.”

Common enough of a story to be believable, but unique enough to make her stand out.

“That sounds like a dream. Sometimes I wonder if I would enjoy disappearing into a foreign countryside, far away from paparazzi and expectations.” Taeha mused as she continued.

“But I think I am far too much of a workaholic to ever be able to feel comfortable doing nothing. Sungho has asked me so many times to move with him to Europe, but it never felt like my future. It seemed too easy.”

“I can understand that feeling. It feels like running away.” Soojin replied truthfully, and Taeha’s face lit up. Maybe finding common ground would easier than Soojin predicted.

“The circumstances may be unfortunate, but it is so nice to have my son and his fiancée back in Korea for the near future. I’m not getting any younger, and I want to spend as much time with my family as I can.”

“I’m grateful for how welcoming you’ve been to me. I know it is always difficult to accept a new member of the family.” Soojin continued to appeal to Taeha’s ego, and it seemed to be working.

“I’ve been waiting for Sungho to get married for almost a decade, so I couldn’t be happier. And luckily, he found a pearl instead of the usual riffraff he would date. Most of those foreign girls had no class or self-respect. Who would have thought that he would meet a nice Korean girl in the middle of Europe? It must have been fate.”

Soojin was initially surprised that Taeha knew about Sungho’s many love affairs, but in the end, it made sense. Taeha seemed like a mother that did a background check on every person who came into contact with her son, privacy be damned. Thank god Soojin’s company was great at creating airtight false identities or she probably would have been found out even before Taeha met her.

“It must have been.” Soojin nodded, trying to put on her most quietly lovestruck expression.

“Sungho told me he proposed to you at the Giardino Delle Rose, high above the beautiful views of Florence. How fitting, for a rose such as you.”

Taeha plucked a white rose from the bouquet she was working on, handing it to Soojin. The woman didn’t even bother about the thorns, and Soojin held in a small gasp when she felt one press into her thumb. Taeha watched her the whole time, like it was a test. She must have passed, because Taeha continued.

“Was it everything you dreamed of when you were a little girl?”

Soojin never dreamed of her future proposal when she was a little girl, but Taeha didn’t need to know that. Instead, she imagined her fake proposal in a country she had never been to.

“It was a beautiful day. He set up a picnic for us during sundown, and he put the ring on top of the tiramisu. It felt like it was right out of romance novel.”

Soojin held out her hand, the shining engagement ring standing out on her otherwise unadorned fingers. It wasn’t to her own personal tastes, but Sungho definitely had a skilled eye when it came to choosing the design and diamonds of the ring. It was believable, and that was all that mattered. Taeha ooh-ed and ahh-ed as she inspected it, and Soojin realized that Sungho must have picked a ring that he knew his own mother would be most impressed by. It was a clever move.

“You know, Soojin, marriage isn’t for the weak. But you two seem like a strong couple. Not all of us find something like that.”

Taeha sighed as she ran her fingers through the petals of the Camellia flower she was holding.

“My ex-husband, Jinhyung, was an interesting man. He grew up in old money, but his family lost it all when they found themselves on the wrong side of the law during the Park regime. When we met, he was struggling to keep everything afloat. But he was quite the romantic despite the pressure he was under. I remember when he proposed to me at the botanical gardens... it was probably the most perfect day of my life. You can understand, right?”

Taeha stared at the flower in her hand, a lifetime of memories going through her head as she spoke to Soojin. Soojin was surprised the older woman was already opening up to her, but she also knew that every actress loved a good monologue.

“It took us years of pain and turmoil to rise back to the top. His company bought out the competition, and I was finally casted in my breakout film. We struggled with conceiving as well, and after half a decade of trying, Sungho was our little miracle. I wanted him to have everything, so we made sure to get him the best education and care that we could afford.”

Taeha grabbed the shears from the table, and began cleaning up the flowers with sharp and precise snips.

“And on Sungho’s tenth birthday, Jinhyung left me for a younger woman.” Taeha snipped a wilted rose from the bouquet as her words turned bitter, and Soojin watched it as it fell to the floor, a bloodstain on the white stone pathway.

In her head, Soojin did the math. Shuhua was only four years younger than Sungho, not ten, so that meant…

“As you probably realized already, Jinhyung had already been meeting with his mistress in Taiwan for years during ‘business trips’ before he left me. I didn’t even know he had a second child until I saw photos of him at Shuhua’s seventh birthday party.”

Soojin could sense the deep hurt in Taeha’s voice, despite the older woman’s attempt to sound light and dignified. The woman was intimidating, but Soojin couldn’t help but feel empathy for her as well. She couldn’t imagine how much that betrayal must have hurt.

“It took me a long time to accept it, but after Shuhua’s mother tragically passed away, I knew I had to maintain the family peace. I welcomed the girl into the family, and the rest is history.”

Everything was beginning to make more sense now. She just needed to figure out why Shuhua hated her so much. She was just about to ask Taeha about Shuhua when she heard steps approaching behind her.

“Oh, Shuhua dear! I didn’t realize you would be stopping by today.”

_Speaking of the devil._

Soojin turned around, and the object of her curiosity was standing only a few feet away.

Shuhua was dressed casually, meaning Soojin could get a better read on the other woman now that she wasn’t in her stuffy funeral clothes. Shuhua was wearing ripped jeans, a well-worn t-shirt and a puffy jacket. She could easily be mistaken as a normal university student and not as the heir of one of the biggest companies in Asia. It was a far cry from Taeha and Sungho’s expensive fashion, and Soojin wondered why she was like that. In Shuhua’s arms were about a dozen manila folders, which she seemingly brought for Taeha.

Soojin tried to give the younger woman a welcoming smile, but Shuhua completely avoided her gaze and instead focused on Taeha.

“I found the files you asked for.” Soojin noticed her slight accent as she spoke, and found it quite charming, despite the coldness the girl has shown her.

Taeha smiled at the younger woman as she waved her forward so she could take the files from her arms.

“Thank you so much, dear. I really appreciate it.”

Shuhua nodded in response. An awkward silence overtook the three women for a moment until Taeha clapped her hands together.

“How about you girls go for a stroll while I get these forms sorted. The Ginkgo trees just turned a stunning yellow this week!”

Shuhua looked like she was just about to argue with Taeha when the older woman continued.

“Since you two will be sisters soon, you should really get to know each other, don’t you think?”

Maybe Soojin could use this opportunity to her advantage. 

“Yes, _eomeonim_ ”

Soojin nodded, and noticed Shuhua had put her head down, holding in any argument that was forming on her tongue. Taeha must have a certain hold over the younger woman if she was being this obedient despite her dislike for Soojin.

“I’ll take my leave now. I’ll see you dears later. Enjoy the autumn foliage!” Taeha swept out of the courtyard, leaving Soojin alone with the one person who seemed to despise her very existence. She was nervous, but excited, to try to get to the bottom of this mystery. Sungho had said that she would be charmed by Shuhua’s unconventional way of thinking and Soojin wondered what he meant by that.

“Should we make our way to the park?” Soojin offered, and Shuhua didn’t even nod in response before she stormed off towards the mansion gates.

Soojin chased her down, and after five minutes of tense silence as they walked side by side, they had finally made it to the riverside park.

Soojin always enjoyed a sunny fall day, but Shuhua’s dark aura was really putting a damper on the beautiful weather as they walked along the riverside path under the Ginkgo trees.

She thought deeply about how she would start off the conversation with Shuhua. She didn’t want to patronize the girl, but she also didn’t want to scare her off. After ten long minutes of silence, Soojin finally remembered what Sungho had mentioned at the end of their conversation earlier.

_Just ask her about her dogs._

It couldn’t hurt to try.

“Sungho tells me that you have dogs?”

The younger woman, who had done a great job ignoring Soojin all this time, had been compromised. It was almost like her ears had perked up when she heard the word ‘dogs.’ Soojin had thrown the bait and Shuhua was caught hook, line, and sinker. Soojin reminded herself to thank Sungho later.

“I do.”

Seo Soojin had never owned a dog in her life and never had any interest really, but Soojin Kwon was a dog lover through and through. She would sell this lie well.

“What breed of dogs are they?”

Shuhua looked like she was debating answering or not, but in the end, her need to talk about her dogs won out.

“One is a silver poodle and one is a brown poodle.” Shuhua kept her answers brusque, but Soojin could tell she was getting more and more interested in this conversation.

“Really? I really love poodles. I used to have a brown poodle growing up named Gom. He was the best little puppy. What are your dogs’ names?”

“Haku and Mata.”

“Haka and Mada?” Soojin purposely messed up their names, and Shuhua immediately corrected her.

“Haku and Mata. Like the Lion King. You’ve ever seen it?” Shuhua sounded annoyed, but still continued with the conversation.

“I actually haven’t. When we lived in France, my parents mostly made me watch Korean movies so I wouldn’t lose touch with my heritage.”

“I forgot you’re from abroad. I don’t understand how your Korean is better than mine even though I’ve lived here for over a decade.” Shuhua grumbled. It must be a sore spot for her.

“My parents made sure to speak Korean to me at home when I was growing up.”

Soojin felt a bit strange lying to this woman for some reason, but she pushed that feeling aside and continued.

“Korean always seemed more comfortable to me than French, even though I can speak both.”

“Then you wouldn’t understand how people judge me here.” Shuhua said bitterly.

Soojin was starting to get a better picture of Shuhua as a person. Someone who was constantly fighting against the image put upon her. A foreigner. A bastard child. An heiress. An orphan at the young age of 24. All sides of this increasingly interesting woman, and she was barely scratching the surface.

Soojin couldn’t hold herself back from trying to comfort Shuhua. She would later blame Sungho’s suggestion to get closer to Shuhua, but in the end she knew it was due to her own volition.

“Your Korean is charming and unique, Shuhua-sshi. Don’t let others judge you for being yourself.”

Shuhua suddenly stopped and turned around to face Soojin. Her large brown eyes peered deeply into Soojin’s soul as she glared at her.

“That doesn’t mean much coming from someone who is lying about who they are.”

Soojin’s anxiety rose to a fever pitch as the girl stared at her, picking her apart piece by piece. A few golden leaves fell around them as they stood still under one of the Ginkgo trees.

_Did she know the truth? Did Sungho already sell her out?_

Soojin had never failed an assignment in all her years at the agency, even when she was surrounded by celebrities, politicians, and perceptive businessmen. Her downfall coming at the hands of a girl like Shuhua would be ironic at best, and pathetic at worst.

“I know how this goes, Soojin-sshi. My brother has dated girls like you before. Don’t try to fool me.”

Soojin was caught off-guard, but she tried her best to hide it.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. You’re engaged to my brother for his money and you’ve somehow got Taeha wrapped around your finger already. By the way, congratulations for being the first to charm her as well.”

_Oh._

Shuhua’s cold attitude and rude words all made sense now. She truly believed Soojin was preying on Sungho and she was just trying to protect her brother. It would admirable, but it did throw a wrench into Soojin’s assignment. She would have to quickly fix this before it spiraled out of control.

“You knew my father was dying so you made sure to lock down Sungho before his body was even cold.”

_Wow._ Soojin really didn’t expect this, but Shuhua must have dealt with countless gold diggers before to be acting like this. She questioned Sungho’s taste once again, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on his poor judgement. She had to make this right.

“Shuhua-sshi, I promise you that I’m not coming after Sungho for his money. I really do love him.” Soojin put all her effort into the last sentence, willing Shuhua to believe in her fake love. But she wasn’t sure it was working.

“You don’t get it. Sungho’s the only family I have left. I can’t let him be manipulated again.”

_Again?_ There must have been a lot Sungho left out of his autobiography when he provided it to the agency. Soojin would have to get to the bottom of that mystery later.

Soojin soon noticed tears at the corners of Shuhua’s eyes, threatening to fall as she trembled with closed fists. Soojin had no siblings of her own, so she couldn’t fully understand the relationship Shuhua and Sungho shared. But it was obvious Shuhua loved Sungho, and Soojin would need to take advantage of that.

“I understand that you’re protective of your brother. I wish I had a sibling like you that cared about me that much. He’s very lucky to have you.”

Shuhua’s eyes shone with pride when Soojin complimented her, but she quickly hid it.

“I don’t trust you.”

“You don’t have to right now. Just give me a chance to earn that trust in the future.”

Soojin felt like she was handling a terrified stray, trying to calm it while also staying far enough away so she won’t be bitten.

“I’m only doing this because I love my brother.”

“I understand that.” Soojin really did.

Shuhua met her gaze again, a fiery spirit shining in her eyes as she spoke to Soojin.

“If you really love him too, you need to prove it.”

Soojin’s mind went blank. She didn’t even know what to think about that. _Prove it?_

“How am I supposed to do that?”

Shuhua took a few moments to calm down, brushing her unshed tears from her eyes before speaking again.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something. You wouldn’t want Taeha learning about your real motives, would you?”

Then she stomped off, leaving Soojin standing alone under the golden leaves on a beautiful autumn day.

Soojin didn’t expect to be dealing with a guard dog during this assignment, but she knew she would have to learn how to tame Shuhua if she wanted to complete it successfully and be paid in full. The last thing they needed was Taeha finding out the truth. The older woman would find some way to make Soojin’s life a living hell and could even jeopardize her career.

She would have to convince Shuhua that she loved Sungho, and quickly. Nothing out of the ordinary for her line of work, but something made this feel different. It felt more like a final exam than a pop quiz, and Soojin wasn’t sure she was prepared enough to ace it. But she would have to try.

She walked back to Sungho’s apartment alone, planning her strategy as she took in the last rays of sunlight.

* * *

When Soojin went to finally went to sleep that night, her mind wouldn’t stop cycling through a series of images, even as she tried her best to calm herself. A teacup. A pair of sheers. A white rose.

And the most frustrating, a pair of dark eyes that peered right into her soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heres a new year gift for you all! hope you all enjoy this chapter and your holidays! theres a lot of set up going on right now, but the action is coming soon i promise :)


	3. Blooming Scent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soojin and Shuhua spend time by the sea. Taeha returns to an old memory. Sungho sets his plans in motion.

Soojin was beginning to feel annoyed. She had been out shopping with Taeha all day, helping the older woman pick out patterns for her interior design project when she saw the flashes of bright lights coming from outside of the boutique window again. They had been following them all day, trying to get the best shots they could. The fact they even stalked them during this hours-long thunderstorm meant they were serious. Soojin wasn’t worried about her identity being found out by the paparazzi, but their obsession with “Korea’s most eligible bachelor’s new fiancée” was really getting to her. _Didn’t they have anything better to do_? She couldn’t imagine being able to sleep at night if she was paid to stalk people all day. Soojin may be a paid actress— she’ll be the first to admit it wasn’t the most virtuous job—but at least she wasn’t a vulture.

“Don’t mind them, darling. They are probably just curious what my next role will be.” Taeha said as she pedantically sorted through ten different silk patterns that looked nearly identical to Soojin.

Soojin knew Taeha was lying just to make herself feel better. The paparazzi had been following the family since Jinhyung’s funeral, and between the patriarch’s death and the son’s mysterious new fiancée, the Park family had been the hottest topic on gossip sites this month. Taeha had been so used to being the centre of attention in the news that Soojin had a feeling the actress was jealous that she was now only a sidenote in the current family drama. If she had a choice, Soojin would gladly trade the attention to Taeha if she could.

After another half hour of shopping, they finally made their way out of the boutique and walked quickly towards their car. Despite the rain, the paparazzi continued following them, taking as many snaps as possible while yelling out questions.

“Have you sorted out the will yet?”

“Has your son moved back to Korea permanently?”

“Is there a baby Park coming in the near future?”

Taeha remained relaxed as they made their way to the car, umbrella in hand. For an actress of her caliber, this must just be another day. Soojin wondered how someone could get so used to this chaos every time they went outside. It sounded like living hell to her. Taeha must have noticed her discomfort, and she grasped Soojin’s wrist firmly as they walked. Soojin wasn’t sure if it was a gesture meant to comfort or to simply make Soojin walk faster. 

Just as they were crossing the road to get to the car, Soojin heard one last reporter yell at them from the sidewalk.

“Taeha-sshi! Will your son take over the company? Or will your ex-husband’s daughter be the next in line?”

With that question, Soojin felt Taeha’s grip tighten on her wrist. It lasted only a moment, but that all Soojin needed to know that the reporter had touched a nerve. _Very interesting._

The ride back to the mansion was quiet, but Soojin didn’t mind. Taeha was staring out the window, lost in her own thoughts as she watched the rain come down. Soojin used the time to ponder why Taeha would be so bothered by the question the reporter asked. Soojin knew that the subject of inheritance was always tricky and cutthroat whenever big money was involved. It seemed like rich families were always getting into melodramatic public fights about it. She had assumed that Jinhyung had left the company to his top subordinates when he died, since Sungho wasn’t interested in staying in Korea long term, but perhaps there was more to the story. And how did Shuhua fit into it all? Typically, companies are passed down to the oldest son, so why would the reporter even question the line of inheritance?

Maybe Soojin could kill two birds with one stone if she used her time to get closer to Shuhua. She could earn the girl’s trust while also learning more about what was brewing between Sungho, Taeha, and the family business. But on a more selfish level, she wanted to learn more about the other woman. What she liked, disliked, wanted, avoided. Something about her attracted Soojin more than usual, and Soojin wanted to figure out what it was. Soojin had never faced an opponent quite like this before.

* * *

After being dropped off by Taeha’s driver at around 9 pm, Soojin ran through the downpour toward Sungho’s building. She was excited to change out of her damp, expensive clothes into her comfortable pajamas. Sungho’s penthouse was large enough to give her sufficient privacy to feel comfortable, and she made sure to take the time to appreciate the spaciousness of her bedroom and bathroom. They were both much nicer than her own place. Soojin quickly bathed and changed into the silk pajamas Sungho had given her before walking to the living room, where Sungho was waiting for her in his own night clothes.

Even though it was late, they had a meeting scheduled this evening to catch up on the events of the past few days. Taeha had been taking up all of Soojin’s time while Sungho was busy working on the business side of things, so this was the only time they had to themselves.

Sungho was sipping on some expensive liquor, but Soojin politely declined when he offered her some when she sat on the couch across from him. She never drank on a job unless it was to keep her image in public. She didn’t like how it loosened her up. It made the truth come too easily for her to feel comfortable, so she stayed sober whenever she could.

“How have you’ve been?” Sungho asked, starting off the conversation.

Soojin leaned back into the couch, getting herself comfortable.

“I’ve been busy. But you knew that already.” Soojin said, eliciting a smirk from Sungho.

“It looks like my mother had been driving you into the ground. Should I pay you more for your efforts?”

“It’s not your mother that was causing the trouble today. The paparazzi wouldn’t stop following us around as we shopped… But if you want to pay me more, that’s of your own volition.” Soojin added offhandedly.

“Ah. It was sadly inevitable, due to the circumstances. But I apologize for the extra difficulty. I’ll add a ‘paparazzi’ fee to your charges to make it up to you.”

Soojin didn’t object, and Sungho made sure to write a note to himself on his phone about it.

As he did that, Soojin debated if she should tell Sungho about Taeha’s slip up. Soojin didn’t trust him much, but maybe it would help get more information out of him about the potential inheritance battle.

But after a short deliberation, she decided that she would keep that piece of information to herself, and instead try to get the information with other, more traditional methods. It was time to turn the tables in her own favour.

“You know, your sister thinks I’m a gold digger.”

Sungho raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised by Soojin’s words.

“Did she really say that?”

“Yes. And she told me that I would have to prove my love for you or else she would tell Taeha that I was a scammer. It would all be over.”

Soojin could see the cogs moving in Sungho’s head. She guessed that he had never thought of Shuhua as a barrier to his plans before and was now trying to recalibrate.

“I never thought Shuhua would act like this. She was such an innocent and kind girl when she was younger.”

It was at that moment that Soojin realized Sungho’s mistake. He was gone for the past decade, studying abroad in Europe while Shuhua was left alone in Korea with Taeha. The small girl he remembered was now a perceptive woman, and Sungho hadn’t planned for that. It explained why Shuhua was barely mentioned in his briefings, and that blindspot was why they were now on thin ice.

“She said it was because she loved you, if that makes you feel better.” Soojin added.

“It doesn’t really. If Shuhua tells my mother about you, everything could fall apart. She might not know the whole truth, but any claims of deception could interrupt my plans.”

“And what plans are those?”

Soojin was genuinely curious. It seemed like she was inching closer and closer to the truth behind why Sungho hired her, and her curiosity made her take risks she usually wouldn’t.

“Nothing that would be of particular interest to you. Just focus on convincing Shuhua about us and entertaining my mother until I can return to Europe. It what I hired you for, nothing else.”

Soojin nodded obediently, but in her head, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Sungho meant by his ‘plans.’

She turned to the window, taking in the dark sky and the relentless sound of rain hitting the glass pane as she pondered his words.

She might have stepped into something bigger than she had planned for, and now she was in too deep to run away. Sungho sounded colder than usual, and Soojin didn’t want him to begin to distrust her. Everything she did felt like a balancing game when it came to the Park family, and she couldn’t risk a mistake this early into her assignment. Her reputation was at stake, and she needed the money.

“This rain looks like it’s never going to end.” Soojin murmured to no one in particular.

Sungho leaned forward to put down his empty tumbler on the coffee table.

_“When this rain stops_

_on the long bank of my heart by the river ferry point_

_sorrowful grass will darken into a deep green.”_

Sungho recited, and Soojin could vaguely remember reading that poem in class when she was in university.

“Lee Su-bok?” She guessed, hoping she could earn more points of respect with Sungho. He looked satisfied with her answer when he nodded.

“Correct. You must come from a well-learned background, Soojin-sshi. Did you study literature in university?”

Soojin realized this was another test, one of many that the Park family had already forced her to partake in. If Sungho figured out which university she went to, it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to eventually find out her real identity. She wasn’t sure why he cared so much about her identity, she really wasn’t anyone interesting, but she knew she had to stay vigilante to his leading questions. None of her former clients ever cared this much about who she was, but Sungho had already proven that he was much more astute than most of her clients.

“I read a lot.” Soojin answered. Sungho didn’t need to know any more than that, and it seemed like he expected that sort of answer when he leaned back again with a resigned sigh.

“You might be one of the most interesting women I’ve ever met, Soojin-sshi.”

“I don’t think of myself as particularly interesting, Sungho-sshi.”

“Oh, trust me. You are.”

* * *

The next day, Sungho and Soojin were sitting in the courtyard at the mansion, waiting for Taeha to join them. The older woman had called a sudden family meeting this morning, but hadn’t provided any details in her texts. Soojin wasn’t sure what to expect, so she kept her mouth shut and waited for the matriarch to arrive. Sungho was busy on his phone, so he didn’t pay her any mind.

She soon heard movement behind her, but when she turned around expecting Taeha, she instead watched Shuhua march towards their table.

“Good morning, Shushu.” Sungho called out to his sister, putting on a mock-sweet voice that Soojin assumed he used to tease Shuhua.

The girl only scowled at him as she took her seat across from them, arms crossed defiantly Obviously she wasn’t happy to be called to a family meeting so early in the morning, especially one that Soojin would be at. Soojin tried to meet her eyes, but Shuhua looked down at the ground instead.

“Did mother interrupt your beauty sleep?” Sungho asked, watching Shuhua’s sour mood with a smirk on his face.

“I was busy today.” Shuhua grumbled. She didn’t look up when she responded to her brother.

Sungho was about to tease her again when they heard the courtyard gate open and Taeha entered.

“Good morning, my beautiful family.” Taeha said as she finally made it to the table. Soojin took in Taeha’s outfit for the day. The woman looked like she was ready to go for a fashionable drive down to the countryside, with her large designer sunglasses and beautiful wool jacket. _Was she planning on going somewhere today?_

Taeha took the seat next to Shuhua, completely ignoring the younger woman’s moody aura as she began to talk.

“Let’s get right to business. As you all have noticed, the family has been having problems with the paparazzi and reporters recently. Soojin and I were followed when we were shopping, Sungho’s secretary was harassed by a reporter, and Shuhua was followed home last night.”

Soojin wasn’t aware of what had happened to Shuhua until now, but she could see that the girl was clearly trying to hide how upset she was by the incident. She couldn’t blame her. At the start of her career, Soojin was stalked by a former client, and it had taken her months to feel comfortable again. She felt slightly guilty that it was partially her fault that Shuhua was being followed home.

Taeha continued, breaking Soojin out of her thoughts.

“This is unacceptable, especially as a family in mourning, so I’ve made plans to circumvent this.”

“And they are?” Sungho asked, his eyebrow raised.

“We will be moving to the house in Jeju for the time being.”

Sungho snorted and crossed his arms. 

“That place is a total hovel. I thought father sold it years ago.” Clearly, it was somewhere Sungho did not want to be. Soojin wondered what kind of place a rich brat like Sungho would consider a ‘hovel.’ She was sure her own childhood home would be considered a slum to him.

“Your father often escaped to it when things were too chaotic in Seoul, so he never sold it. The public doesn’t know about it, and I think it would be a wise place for us to stay for the time being and become closer as a family.” Taeha’s reasoning was sound, but Sungho still wanted to argue.

“It’s tiny! How will all of us fit in there? And how long would we stay? I have too many things to get done in Seoul.”

Taeha glared at him as he complained. Shuhua remained quiet.

“I will take the master bedroom; you and your fiancée can have the guest bedroom with the queen-sized bed and Shuhua will sleep in her old room by the docks.”

“Her old room? Wasn’t that mine?”

With Sungho’s complaining, Soojin was starting to understand much more about the Park family dynamics. Sungho saw himself as the prince, and despite his love for his sister, he still believed he deserved much more as the eldest son. Taeha rolled her eyes at him, like he was an irritable teenager and not an almost thirty-year-old billionaire. People often say that adult children regress when they return to their parent’s home, and Soojin was seeing it first-hand.

“You were in Europe. We redecorated it for her over a decade ago, Sungho.”

“You were the one who sent me to Europe, mother.” Sungho spat back.

“Sungho.”

Taeha’s glare could cut steel. It almost felt like all the air in the room was sucked out as she stared at Sungho with her mouth tight. Soojin never wanted to be on the receiving end of that look if she could avoid it.

Sungho ignored her glare and continued his berating.

“You still haven’t told me how long we will be staying there.”

Taeha took in a deep breath as she realized that Sungho wouldn’t stop, and with that, her entire demeaner changed. Her anger dissipated, and a neutral expression returned. No wonder she was one of the top actresses in Korea, Soojin thought.

“I’m not entirely sure. Most likely until the next big scandal happens and the news gets bored of us. I’ll give it two weeks, knowing how quickly the news cycle moves in this country.”

Sungho let out a dramatic sigh but didn’t say any more.

“Are we all in agreement?” Taeha asked, looking like she already knew no one would argue with her at this point. Sungho may challenge her, but it seemed like she always got her way in the end.

Shuhua nodded, Sungho didn’t say anything and just looked hard at the flowers that lay on the ground beside them. Soojin moved to wrap her arms around his bicep and whispered to him, remembering that she was supposed to be a supportive fiancée who wanted to comfort her partner. Shuhua shot her a glare as she heard Soojin’s comforting words to Sungho, but Taeha gave her an empathetic look.

“Thank you for dealing with my son’s moodiness today, Soojin. The plane for Jeju leaves in three hours, so be sure to make it there in time.”

“We will see you there, _eomeonim.”_ Soojin gave Taeha a soft smile as she patted Sungho on the shoulder, trying to rid him of his sulky expression.

“And Shuhua, I’ll have my driver take you back to your place so you can pick up your things.”

“I’d rather walk.” Shuhua said, and with that, she left.

Taeha watched Shuhua leave with an unreadable expression. If Soojin had to guess, there was some sadness in her eyes, which surprised her. Why would Taeha even bother to be kind to her husband’s other child? The woman became more complicated every day.

“Let’s go, honey.” Soojin said to Sungho before kissing him on the cheek. Sungho took a moment to absorb what she had just done but was soon taken out of his irritable mood when he remembered that he was supposed to be in love with Soojin.

He smiled at her, but there wasn’t any warmth behind it. Taeha must have not noticed, however, and she cooed as she watched them walk away hand in hand. Sungho’s hand held her own like he was carrying a piece of garbage to the bin, and Soojin was happy they only had to touch until they made it to the privacy of Sungho’s car.

“Good job.” Sungho said as he put his seatbelt on.

“It wasn’t too difficult today.”

“Well, be prepared because it’s going to be much harder once we get to Jeju. We won’t have the privacy of my house anymore, and my mother and Shuhua will be around us constantly. They will be like sharks circling a corpse if we make any mistakes.”

Soojin didn’t exactly see the two women as predators, but Sungho had a point. They will only have rare moments of respite for the next two weeks, and when they didn’t, they would really have to play up the love between them. Their formal public relationship had been ok for the past two weeks, since Sungho was in mourning, but being on a beautiful island with your new fiancée created expectations that they had to fulfill. Soojin had to convince Shuhua they were in love, and it was going to be difficult.

* * *

They reached the vacation house at around 8 pm. Soojin was expecting the building to look like a five star resort, but was surprised when it simply looked… normal. Granted, its location on the coast probably cost quite a lot, but the house itself wasn’t anything special. It was painted a sandy color, blending into the natural landscape. The main building was large enough for a family of three or four, and the converted boathouse seemed like it had one or two rooms within it. Soojin assumed that was where Shuhua’s room was, and it seemed she was correct when the younger woman quickly brought her luggage into it and closed the door behind her.

“Don’t mind her, she never enjoyed plane rides, no matter how short they were.”

Taeha and Soojin walked towards the house as Sungho unloaded the luggage from the car.

The inside of the house surprised Soojin even more. Unlike the Park family mansion in Seoul, a modern building made of stark greys and whites with little personality outside of the courtyard garden, the interior of the vacation home was filled with character and domesticity.

The walls inside the house were covered in memories. It seemed like Jinhyung had put all his love into this small house, rather than the cold business tower where he spent most of his time.

“I haven’t been here in years, but it still looks the same.” Taeha murmured as she took in the family photos scattered across the walls.

Soojin always assumed that Jinhyung was strictly a shrewd businessman with little care for his family, but her opinion rapidly changed as she took in the multitude of innocent paintings, Taekwondo trophies, and candid photographs that filled the room.

She walked closer to one that caught her eye. It was a picture taken on the beach during a hot summer day. Taeha was relaxing on a towel in the shade, a shy smile on her face that looked more natural than any expression Soojin had seen her make so far. In front of her, Shuhua was grinning widely as she built a sandcastle with Sungho, admiration for her brother in her eyes as he carefully placed a flag on the top. According to the year on the photo, Sungho was about fourteen, which made Shuhua ten years old. It looked like a precious family memory, and Soojin felt like she was intruding on something that she wasn’t supposed to see.

“Jinhyung always enjoyed taking photographs in his spare time.” Taeha said as she walked up behind Soojin.

“He wasn’t the most skilled photographer, but he was persistent.” A small smile formed on Taeha’s face as she looked at the photo.

“Even though we were long divorced by that point, he wanted our family to be healthy, so I was always invited on family vacations with the children. That was our last vacation as a family before Sungho went to study abroad.”

Soojin wanted to ask why Sungho was sent abroad and not Shuhua, but this wasn’t the time to ask. The older woman looked like she was a million miles away at the moment as she looked at all the mementos around the room.

“Why don’t you go get settled in, and we can chat more later.” Taeha said, and Soojin was happy to leave the older woman alone with her memories.

Soojin took her time putting away her clothes and let herself take an indulgently long shower while Sungho called his business partners from the bedroom and told them he would be on a two-week vacation.

It was already dark out when Soojin finished her shower, and she had only just gotten dressed in her pajamas when she heard a knock at their door. Sungho answered, and Taeha opened the door.

“Sungho, I need you help me move some of the furniture. Soojin, why don’t you go find Shuhua. I think she headed down to the beach for some fresh air and she might want some company.”

Soojin knew that Shuhua didn’t want her company, but it was an opportunity that she had to take.

Sungho smiled at her as she left the room.

“See you later, honey.”

* * *

Soojin wasn’t sure that slippers and a long overcoat over her pajamas was appropriate winter wear, but it was the best she could do as she walked towards the private beach.

She spied Shuhua by the water, perched on top of one the straggly rocks that lined the beach. Soojin could recognize this part of the beach from the photographs.

Shuhua turned when she heard Soojin approaching, her slippers crunching the cold sand beneath her feet. Shuhua’s deep set frown was apparent, even in the darkness of the evening.

“What do you want?” Shuhua pointedly questioned as Soojin took a seat on a rock a few feet away from her.

“Taeha wanted me to check on you.”

“Why does she care?”

Soojin wasn’t sure how to answer. Taeha’s motives never seemed very clear. Maybe she was simply worried about Shuhua?

“She just wants her family to be happy I guess, especially after everything that happened.”

“I’m not her family.”

Soojin couldn’t argue with that. What could she even say? It would probably be best to change the subject.

“Did you come here often when you were younger?”

Shuhua didn’t answer right away, so Soojin patiently waited for her to. She had all the time in the world. Eventually, Shuhua gave in.

“My dad and I used to come here every time I had a break from school.” She murmured into the wind. She was so quiet that Soojin had almost missed it. The girl didn’t bother looking at her and kept her gaze out towards the sea.

Soojin was surprised. She expected a billionaire CEO and his family to be spending his vacations in expensive hotels all over the world. Shuhua must have read her mind, because she continued talking.

“My father never liked traveling, so we only came here.”

That explained that amount of love put into the small house.

“You must have great memories here, then.”

Shuhua nodded but said nothing. Soojin looked out towards the dark ocean, imagining all the joyful times the Park family must have had here over the years. She wished she had memories like that, but her parents were always too busy working to go on vacation. Her parents were always too busy for her in general.

Soon, Soojin heard sniffling, and when she looked back at the younger woman, she could see that she was wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. When Shuhua realized that Soojin was watching her, she got off of her perch and walked towards the water. For a moment, Soojin was worried she was going to walk right into the ocean, but instead she stopped at the edge of the water and crouched down. It was a curious sight. Shuhua’s white night robe contrasted against the dark of the ocean, almost making her look like a spirit in the moonlight.

Shuhua sat down on the sand, wrapping her arms around her knees and tucking her head on top of them. Soojin soon followed her example and sat down on the damp sand. It was cold and wet, but she didn’t pay it any mind. She felt like Shuhua and her were on the edge of a breakthrough, and she wanted to see how far she could push her luck.

After a few moments, Shuhua turned her head towards Soojin as they sat side by side, but she didn’t tell her to leave. Instead, she just stared at her with sad eyes, and Soojin couldn’t help but feel trapped within their steady gaze.

“My dad died.”

Soojin watched as the silent tears slipped down Shuhua’s face, reflecting the moonlight against her skin. It was like Shuhua had finally processed what had happened in the past few weeks. This was the first time Soojin really felt like she saw the true face of the younger woman. She put on a cold and aloof appearance, but in reality, she was just a child who had lost both her parents at such a young age. Soojin’s heart ached for her.

Shuhua sniffled again before she continued.

“My dad died, and all everyone cares about is what is going to happen to his business and his assets. It was like he was worth nothing to them outside of his money.”

Shuhua wiped away another tear.

“No one cares about his fishing trophies, or the little sketches he used to draw for us on napkins.”

Shuhua let out a bitter laugh.

“Taeha already hated my father ever since he left her for my mom, and Sungho is too occupied with you and the business to even care that our father died.”

Taeha was a bit more complicated than that, but Sungho had seemed almost unaffected by his father’s death, and Shuhua must have picked up on his apathy quite quickly. Still, Soojin was supposed to be his fiancée, so she needed to protect him.

“Sungho is dealing with this in his own way. Behind closed doors, he’s been quite upset, which worries me.” Soojin was lying through her teeth, but this was what was needed.

“Really?” Shuhua asked gullibly.

“Your brother just doesn’t want to look weak in front of you and Taeha, since he’s supposed to be the strong one.”

Shuhua thought it over for a moment, and it seemed like Soojin had said the right thing

Her voice was small when she finally spoke again.

“I just wish my mom was here.”

Shuhua looked out to the ocean again, searching for something that was beyond her reach. Soojin wished she could do something to comfort her, but in the end, she was simply someone who was hired to deceive Shuhua.

“I’m really sorry, Shuhua-sshi.”

Shuhua snorted at her weak reply, her fire finally returning despite the cold wind blowing across their faces. Soojin was glad to see it.

“And I can’t believe I’m pitiful enough to tell all this to a woman my brother probably picked up at a trashy bar abroad.”

That would have stung, if it were true. Instead, Soojin found it pretty humorous. She didn’t doubt for one second that Sungho had picked up countless people at less than desirable locations. She decided to hit back at Shuhua with an equal amount of sass.

“That’s not true. He actually picked me up at a trashy nightclub.”

Despite her drying tears, Soojin could see Shuhua crack a smile at her joke. A small victory.

Soojin realized that this was the very first time she had ever seen Shuhua smile. It was beautiful, but it was one of the saddest smiles she’s ever witnessed. Something in her craved to see Shuhua’s unadulterated smile one day, but she held back before those confusing feelings could get a hold on her.

“Why are you really here?” Shuhua asked suddenly, but it had no bite to it. She seemed like she was asking it in a more metaphorical sense than literal, so that’s how Soojin answered it.

“Because I love your brother.”

Soojin often found that the simplest answer was the best answer, but it didn’t seem to satisfy Shuhua.

“Why do you love him?” Shuhua seemed to be searching for something in Soojin’s eyes as she pondered the question. That seemed to be a trait all the Parks had, biologically related or not.

Truthfully, Soojin had never been in love before. There were a few times she thought she felt flickers of it, but it always fizzled out soon enough. She wasn’t sure if her parents were in love either, as they seemed to be together out of necessity rather than love. Because of that, she never really had a benchmark for love. She would have to wing her answer.

“Because he feels like home to me.”

Soojin remembered that line from an old drama her mother used to watch after work, and put all her acting skills behind it as she told Shuhua. She found it romantic when she was a teenager, despite the cheesiness of the delivery. She hoped Shuhua would find it romantic too.

Evidently, she was wrong, because Shuhua’s eyes shone with confusion.

“I don’t get it.”

Ah.

The girl didn’t seem like she was being sarcastic or anything. Just genuinely perplexed by Soojin’s answer. Maybe Shuhua had never been in love before either.

“Love is hard to explain.” Soojin responded quickly, a bit flustered. Shuhua wasn’t as predictable as her past marks, and the girl’s straightforwardness threw Soojin off.

They sat in silence for a few more moments, Soojin almost slapping herself for her stupid answers. She could feel the damp sand seeping into her clothes, and the wind had picked up, causing her face to sting. It was probably time to go back inside.

“It’s getting cold.”

“It is.”

Shuhua dusted her pajama pants off as she stood up from the sand. As Soojin tried to stand up, she felt herself lose balance as her slipper stuck itself in the sand. She almost fell over before Shuhua quickly grabbed her arm, bringing her back upright before she hit the wet sand. Shuhua’s hand was warm despite the cold weather, and Soojin could feel the warmth through her thin robe sleeve. The younger woman quickly withdrew her hand when she realized what she had done.

“Oh. Thank you.”

Shuhua said nothing after that, and only turned around towards the property while dodging Soojin’s eyes. Soojin was happy that the other woman waited for her before making her way back to the house, instead of just marching off like usual. She still stayed a few awkward steps away from Soojin, but it was good enough. The walk back was silent, but not in a undesirable way.

Soojin had learned more about Shuhua than she thought she would during their talk on the beach. Her mind was full of all the little facts and implications Shuhua revealed, and she needed to take time to organize them all out so she could figure out the best path forward with the girl. She may have calmed down the guard dog slightly, but Soojin was sure than even a small mistake would put Shuhua back onto the defensive. She had to work hard.

They finally arrived at the boathouse after a few minutes’ walk under the stars, and Soojin was slightly disappointed she had to already say goodbye to the other woman and return to Sungho’s bed. Shuhua lingered near the door, her hand hovering over the doorknob as she awkwardly thought of a way to say goodbye. However, Soojin beat her to the punch.

“Good night, Shuhua-sshi.” Soojin said with a wave.

“Good night…Soojin-sshi.” Shuhua awkwardly answered back, like she had to force the words to form in her mouth. She quickly closed the door behind her, leaving Soojin alone in the dark.

_That was definitely progress._

Soojin felt pretty satisfied as she walked back to the main house. Maybe this trip to Jeju would work out better for her than she thought. Shuhua finally spoke to her like she was a real person and not just a target to take her anger out on. Maybe they could find some common ground.

* * *

Back in the main house, most of the lights were already off, signaling that Taeha was already asleep. Soojin tried her best to go through the rooms as silently as she could, as not to disturb the older woman or Sungho.

During her quiet sneaking, Soojin noticed that a light had been left on in the room besides their bedroom. Her parents had always yelled at her if she had left a light on, so Soojin opened the door out of habit to shut the light off.

She hadn’t expected to see Sungho rummaging through the shelves, searching hard for something.

“Are you looking for something?”

Sungho turned around, surprise on his face that was quickly controlled back into a neutral expression. He moved forward to casually lean on the desk. This must have been Jinhyung’s office.

“Ah, Soojin. Just trying to find a book my father used to read to me as a child.”

Soojin didn’t believe him for a second, but she took the bait to appease him.

“That sounds very sweet. I hope you can find it.”

He nodded before walking towards her, putting his hand on her forearm. It felt much different than Shuhua’s touch.

“How was my sister?”

“She’s doing well. We bonded a bit over some shared interests.”

Soojin didn’t feel like telling Sungho the intimate details of their conversation. She probably should, but something was keeping her from being truthful.

“Women are simple once you figure out what makes them tick. Good job, Soojin.”

Soojin brushed his comment off before it could anger her. Sungho really saw his sister as a naïve child, but Soojin could now see there was much more to Shuhua than meets the eye.

“Let’s go to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day with my family.” Sungho put his hand on the small of Soojin’s back, and she wished she could push it away. It wasn’t a perverted touch, but it was patronizing, like he was escorting a child out of the room. Almost everything Sungho did was condescending. He didn’t move his hand until they made it to their bedroom and Soojin was able to quickly change out of her damp clothes in the washroom.

This was the first time they had to sleep in a bed together, but Sungho didn’t seem bothered at all as he climbed in on his own side. Soojin had done a few times before while working, with luckily no incidents, so she slid under the sheets with a nonchalant expression. If Sungho tried anything, it would only end badly for him. He didn’t seem to even register her next to him in the bed, however, and quickly fell asleep, his unattractive snores filling the room. He never even said goodnight.

Soojin tried her best to sleep, but just couldn’t get comfortable. The sheets smelled like Sungho, a mix of expensive cologne and masculine sweat. Soojin hated it.

Even though the bed was warm, Sungho’s mere presence beside her made her feel cold. She longed for a warmer touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heres a long chapter! hope you all enjoy it! thank you for all the comments and kudos so far :)


	4. Tangerine Blossoms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soojin gets to the point of no return.

Sungho wasn’t wrong when he said it would be a long day.

Taeha decided she wanted to go tangerine picking with the family, and they were awoken bright and early to get dressed. Soojin never expected to do strangely normal activities with the Park family when she was hired as Sungho’s fiancée, but this assignment had taken so many turns since the beginning that she decided to just go with it. It was definitely different than the galas and society events she usually attended during work, but she didn’t hate it. It would hopefully give her more time to impress Taeha and get closer to Shuhua. Soojin really needed this assignment to go well, so pleasing Sungho was a priority, despite her growing dislike for the pretentious man.

The Park family had their own private tangerine grove, and Soojin held her hand in front of her eyes to block the bright autumn sunlight so she could see the orchard spread out in front of her. The beautiful orange color of the tangerines reflected off the frost on the ground and made a picturesque winter tableau.

Soojin thought about her plans for the day. Since this was the first time all four of them were gathered together in a more casual manner, she would really have play up her love for Sungho. Taeha’s eyes were sharp, and Shuhua seemed to be watching Soojin closely, even though she pretended not to be every time Soojin tried to meet her eyes.

They grabbed beautiful wicker baskets before making their way into the grove. Taeha was leading them, with Soojin and Sungho following behind hand-in-hand. Shuhua was lingering in the back, keeping her gaze on the couple’s intertwined hands.

“Have you ever gone fruit picking before, Soojin?” Taeha called back as she gracefully sidestepped a few rotten fruits.

“I’ve visited a few vineyards in Italy, but it was mostly to try the wine, not the grapes.” Soojin said with a chuckle.

“So you and Sungho share that in common?”

“Of course. Soojin and I have been planning our future vineyard together for a while now. She even has a few names picked out already for our vintage.”

If there was a competition for faking engagements, Soojin was sure they would take first place at this rate. Sungho was a natural performer unlike some of her more acting-challenged former clients. Taeha seemed fully convinced.

“That’s very exciting, dear. Having a partner support you in everything is a wonderful thing.” Taeha said as she picked a tangerine off the top branch.

Sungho brought their shared hands up to his face and laid a kiss on the back of Soojin’s hand.

“I’m just lucky to have found someone to share my passions with.”

Soojin noticed Shuhua’s expression change as Sungho’s words became sickly sweet, and she had to hold in her own laughter as the girl made a disgusted face. Luckily, no one else seemed to notice it. Sungho’s mushiness may not be enjoyed by the younger woman, but hopefully it was convincing her.

“Ah, young love…” Taeha said wistfully as she watched them.

Shuhua gagged silently again, and Soojin had to pretend to sneeze to hide her smile.

“You lovebirds can go back to the house after you and Shuhua fill your baskets to the brim. I have a lot of new recipes I’m dying to try.” Taeha announced.

Soojin had a feeling Sungho would rather have his foot run over by a car than collect tangerines with his family, but he smiled and nodded to his mother before pulling Soojin over to a nearby tree.

Shuhua began filling her basket quickly, obviously sharing the same feeling with her brother. The sooner she filled her basket, the sooner they could all go back to the house and she could hide in the boathouse alone.

Soojin went to collect some tangerines for her own basket and was soon surprised by Sungho dropping some of his own into it. She gave him a stern look, but he only smiled.

“Can’t I help my love fulfill her quota?”

“That’s just going to make my basket harder to carry back.” Soojin deadpanned.

“I’ll carry back both if I have to.”

“Will you?” She challenged.

“Only if you give me a kiss in return.”

Sungho smirked again before dropping more into her basket. If this was his way of flirting, then Soojin felt bad for the women who actually had to date him. Taeha was busy collecting fruit, but Soojin could see Shuhua watching them out of the corner of her eye. Sungho clearly noticed as well, which is the reason why he was still playing it up even though Taeha wasn’t in earshot. It was getting a bit frustrating to be watched so carefully by the younger woman. Soojin was beginning to feel annoyed.

Taeha soon moved closer to the tree that was across from the one that Sungho and Soojin were working on, and Soojin suddenly had an idea to get back at Shuhua. If the girl was desperate to prove that Soojin loved her brother, then Soojin would give her a show she wouldn’t forget.

Soojin plucked the prettiest looking tangerine from the tree Shuhua was standing in front of, catching the girl’s attention. She could feel her burning gaze as she began peeling the fruit.

Sungho was leaning over the baskets, so Soojin trailed her fingers down his arm to get his attention. He looked at her with a confused expression as she smiled sweetly at him. In her hands, she separated one piece of the tangerine, holding it in front of Sungho’s face.

“Here, honey.”

Soojin took the peeled fruit and placed it delicately against Sungho’s lips. He opened up his mouth and took the fruit, chewing as Soojin smiled at him. She kept her finger on his lips for a moment longer, making the whole exchange feel increasingly intimate.

“It’s almost as sweet as you, honey.”

Sungho said with a smirk after he finished eating, and Soojin could see Taeha smiling behind him. On the other hand, Shuhua was staring at them with an intense expression, like she just saw something she wasn’t supposed to, but couldn’t look away. Her expression–which Soojin expected to be more grossed out—looked almost… jealous. Soojin felt a strange wave of satisfaction in her stomach as Shuhua quickly averted her eyes. Shuhua was continuously unpredictable, and it made Soojin feel excited in a way she hasn’t felt in years. She would probably regret chasing this feeling, but Soojin wanted to know where it would lead.

“Sungho, I need your help to carry my basket back!” Taeha called out, and Sungho groaned as he made his way to his mother. So much for getting his help to carry her own, but Soojin didn’t mind him leaving either. She was quickly growing tired of his smile.

That left Soojin and Shuhua alone, picking fruit side by side in silence. Soojin didn’t mind the frequent silences they’ve had together. It was nice not to have to constantly live up to built-in expectations. It was her job—and she was great at it—but even she got tired from time to time. The girl was no longer sending her dirty looks, so maybe Soojin had finally shocked Shuhua enough to believe her.

Soojin was even beginning to enjoy her task as she picked the fruit. It was meditative, in a way, and gave her time to breath before she had to go back to Sungho’s side. Hopefully they didn’t need to ramp up their affection anymore, because Soojin wasn’t looking forward to any more displays of intimacy. She would rather spend time alone on the beach with a nice book.

Deep in her thoughts, Soojin mindlessly reached forward towards another fruit. It was a crucial mistake.

The fruit must have been overripe, because when she grabbed it with a firm grasp, it burst open, getting juice all over her expensive white sweater. When she tried to jump back, she tripped over the basket she had filled to the brim with fruit, spilling them all over the ground.

“Ah damn it—"

Breaking her previous silence, Shuhua suddenly let out a loud laugh as Soojin cursed and tried to brush the juice off of her clothes. Soojin had never heard Shuhua laugh before, and it was almost like a wolf’s howl. It was adorable, and Soojin fought hard to keep in her own laughter. She soon failed, and giggles escaped her as she took in the ridiculous situation.

“You’re surprisingly clumsy.” Shuhua said as she tried to get her laughter under control. Her voice was friendlier than ever before, but that was probably only because she was still laughing at Soojin’s misfortune.

“I’m not usually!” Soojin retorted.

“You almost fell on the beach yesterday, too.”

Soojin groaned in embarrassment. Maybe she was a bit clumsy. She leaned down again to pick up the fallen fruit, head down in shame.

“I’ll help you clean them up.” Shuhua said, surprisingly offering an olive branch. Soojin wouldn’t have expected that from a girl was glaring at her only ten minutes before.

“You don’t have to.”

“Taeha will kill us if she sees all her precious tangerines lying in the cold dirt. It’ll be better if I help.”

Soojin couldn’t argue with that logic, and scooted over so Shuhua could come beside her.

Shuhua crouched down next to Soojin, helping her gather all the tangerines that rolled out of the basket and putting them back. They worked fast, and Soojin was grateful for the help. She didn’t want to piss off Taeha after doing so well this morning. 

As they were finishing up, Soojin’s cheek started feeling hot, like someone was watching her closely, so she turned her head. Just as she thought, Shuhua was unabashedly staring at her once again. Her wide black eyes were focused on her, and Soojin felt her face turn red. Shuhua really was like a dog, Soojin thought, but maybe less like a wary guard-dog like she thought before, and more like an inquisitive puppy.

“Are those real tattoos on your back?” Shuhua wondered out loud. The question was so out of the blue that Soojin sputtered her response back.

“How did you know I had tattoos?”

Shuhua hummed like the answer was obvious

“I noticed them yesterday when we were walking back from the beach. Your night clothes were pretty see-through after the water got on them.”

Soojin felt more embarrassed than she had in a long time. Her tattoos were always well covered up while she was working, so Shuhua was the very first person to see them. She had even contemplated getting them removed to make work easier, but every time she was just about to make the laser appointment, something held her back. They were one of the only personal things Soojin had when she was working, and foolish part of her believed they kept her connected to her own self whenever she had to take on a new identity.

“I wasn’t exactly planning for my night clothes to get wet.” Soojin fired back. Shuhua only smiled at her response. Instead of a patronizing smile like Sungho’s, it looked like she was genuinely enjoying teasing Soojin. Maybe Soojin made a mistake by getting closer to the other girl if this was going to be the end result.

“They were pretty, from what I could see.”

“Um, thank you?” Soojin didn’t know where this was leading.

“Did you know that Taeha hates tattoos? She never let me have one when I was growing up even though I always begged her. She said they make you look cheap.”

Soojin didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t exactly a threat, but Shuhua seemed like she was implying something else with her words.

“But don’t worry, I won’t tell her about your tattoos. She doesn’t need to know _everything_ about you.”

On the surface, Shuhua was talking about the tattoos, but it was obvious from her emphasis that she was talking about her accusations towards Soojin as well.

Soojin decided to take her head on.

“So you aren’t going to tell Taeha I’m a liar and gold digger now?” Soojin asked her with an amused lilt in her voice, like the accusation was so absurd that it was funny.

“I’m still not sure, but if you really were a gold digger, I’m sure being stuck on family vacation with us is punishment enough.” Shuhua said with a laugh.

“It’s really not so bad so far.” Soojin said.

“Just wait until Sungho and Taeha start arguing. My dad and I used to escape to the beach whenever they started yelling at each other.”

“I’m sure Sungho is mature enough now not to pick a fight with his mother.”

“You probably know him better than I do now, but when we were kids, Sungho always knew how to start fights that only he could win.”

“Really?”

“I think he was always too scared to argue with my father, but everyone else was fair game. Teachers, instructors, nannies, and the rest.”

_Sungho always knew how to start fights that only he could win_. That seemed to line up well with the image Soojin was forming of Sungho in her mind. But instead of outright arguing like when he was a kid, however, it looked like Sungho had figured out a better method to win. She wondered if Taeha realized that too, or if she was blinded by mother’s love. Soojin wished she knew why exactly Sungho hired her to deceive his family, but it was still beyond her. In other cases, she would cut her losses and terminate the contract if she felt her client wasn’t being fully honest with her, but Soojin needed the money now more than ever before. She hated it, but she had bigger things to worry about in her life than Sungho’s truthfulness.

“Did he argue with you often?” Soojin asked, genuinely interested in the answer.

“Not really. I think I was too young for him to see me as a worthwhile opponent.” Shuhua stated plainly. She said it lightly, like it was an inside joke, but it didn’t seem like it was far from the truth.

“That sounds like him...”

“Do you two argue a lot?” Shuhua asked in return.

Soojin could say they never argue, but that probably sounded more suspicious than the alternative. Instead, she settled for the middle ground.

“We have our moments, but we usually try to make up before the end of the day. We always say sorry before we go to sleep.”

“He apologizes to you?” Shuhua said, curious expression on her face. Her reaction made it seem like Sungho had never apologized before in his life. Soojin wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.

“He’s… slowly getting better at it?”

Soojin laughed, and Shuhua soon joined her. Soojin was so glad to see Shuhua’s smile again. Who knew that the fastest ways to gaining Shuhua’s trust were making a fool out of herself and teasing her brother? Soojin would have to remember that for the future.

“Maybe he’s finally grown up.”

“Men never really grow up.” Soojin said before she even realized it.

Shuhua looked at her for a moment with another curious expression.

“I wouldn’t really know. The only guy I know well is my brother.”

“You don’t have a boyfriend?”

“No…”

Soojin was surprised. Shuhua was beautiful, rich, and well educated. In the circles Soojin worked in, those kinds of women always married quite early to equally rich men and soon had little rich children. Shuhua was so different from anyone Soojin had dealt with before; Soojin wondered how such a person could emerge from the circumstances that were forced onto her. She wanted to know more, but didn’t want to press her luck. The sun had reached its peak in the sky, and it was probably time to go home. Shuhua had noticed it as well and began getting ready to go.

“We should start heading back before Taeha comes and yells at us.”

Soojin nodded in agreement and went to go pick up her basket. It was heavier than she expected, and she was having a difficult time trying to pull the handle onto her shoulder. She wasn’t the strongest person, physically, and it was quite embarrassing. After a few moments of pitiful attempts, her basket suddenly felt light as a feather. She looked up, and saw Shuhua hauling it onto her free shoulder, carrying both baskets at the same time. She was deceptively strong.

“Oh… thank you.” Soojin said as she stood back up. The girl’s strength was impressive, and she looked pretty proud of it too.

“It’s nothing.” Shuhua said casually with a wave of her hand before turning around.

They walked side by side back to the car where Taeha and Sungho were waiting. Sungho was engrossed in whatever he was reading on his phone, while Taeha was organizing the fruit in the back of the car.

As Sungho grasped her arm with his own cold hand, Soojin foolishly wished Shuhua and her could have stayed longer out in the grove, just the two of them. 

* * *

Taeha had bought a boatload of fresh seafood for their dinner feast, and Soojin was shocked when she saw all the different dishes spread out onto the picnic tables by the beach. It must have cost hundreds of dollars, if not more. There were only four mouths to feed, but this spread could have easily fed fifteen or twenty.

As Soojin beheld the various dishes, Taeha walked up behind her, laying a hand on Soojin’s shoulder.

“I thought it would be nice to finally have a dinner to celebrate your engagement. I know it’s a little late, but some circumstances are unavoidable, unfortunately.”

‘Unavoidable circumstances’ was a strange way to frame an ex-husband’s death, but Soojin could see that Taeha was trying to make best of the situation. She wasn’t as cold as she tried to be.

“Thank you so much for this, _eomeonim_. I really appreciate everything you have done for us.”

“Don’t thank me, Soojin. You’re the one finally bringing happiness to my family after such a difficult year.” Taeha seemed genuinely grateful, and Soojin was once again thrown off by this enigmatic woman.

“Meeting Sungho was fate then, it seems.” Soojin said, repeating back Taeha’s words from their second meeting.

“I would say so.” Taeha said with a wink.

Sungho and Shuhua soon joined them, voracious looks in their eyes, and Taeha had to hold them back from devouring the food before she did her toast.

Taeha gracefully clasped her champagne flute as she stood at the head of the table. The rest of the table did the same in turn, waiting for Taeha to speak.

“If I had my way, we would be having a grand party to celebrate your engagement back in Seoul, but since that isn’t possible right now, I tried my best to make up for it. Hopefully it will still be a night you two will remember for years to come.”

Soojin found herself staring at Shuhua as Taeha continued. Shuhua had dressed up for the night, no doubt at Taeha’s orders, and Soojin admired how nice she looked. She was wearing a beautiful white designer jacket, the first expensive thing Soojin had ever seen her wear. Her hair was braided beautifully and decorated with a headband, and her lips were red. She looked like the perfect daughter.

But this perfect image was soon broken when Soojin noticed that Shuhua had already roughly rolled her sleeves up in preparation for the food she was eyeing. Soojin wanted to giggle at the contradiction, but Taeha was still giving her toast.

As Soojin admired Shuhua’s profile, she was suddenly met by dark eyes. Shuhua had turned towards her and caught her staring. Soojin was so used to the reverse happening that she didn’t expect Shuhua to catch her. Her heart was racing due to her shame. The other woman only stared back at her before nodding towards Taeha, who was finally finishing up her speech.

“—and I’m so grateful that my family has finally be reunited after years apart, with a new face finally joining us. This is for my dear son Sungho and my new daughter, Soojin. Cheers!”

They all clinked their glasses, and Sungho met her eyes, giving her shallow smile. She hoped he hadn’t noticed her silent interaction with Shuhua, and thankfully it didn’t seem like he did. The champagne was delicious, and Soojin took a moment to appreciate it. She would probably never get engaged in real life, so she might as well try to enjoy this for the time being.

They finally dived into the feast, and the table became quiet as they all enjoyed the fresh seafood Taeha prepared. Soojin had never tasted food this good before in her life, and wished she could enjoy it more, but she began feeling tense for no particular reason. She willed herself to relax, but something was bothering her in the back of her mind. She would have to deal with it later, however, because Taeha had begun talking to her about various wedding plans.

As Taeha chatted endlessly at her, Soojin watched Sungho and Shuhua’s interactions on the other side of the table. The younger woman was having difficulty cracking the crab legs, so Sungho had reached over to help her. He was teasing her, but there was a certain warmth to it that Soojin hadn’t seen from him before. Like a true older brother.

This must be why Shuhua was so protective of him. He really was the only family Shuhua had left, and it seemed that he took care of her well enough despite his other flaws. Maybe Sungho wasn’t as bad as Soojin had thought. If Shuhua loved him like she did, Soojin reasoned, then there must be something in him that warranted that loyalty and admiration. She wondered if she would ever get to see it herself.

“—what do you think, Soojin?”

Soojin realized that Taeha was still talking to her, and it took her a moment to catch up.

“Ah, sorry. Can you repeat that?”

“I was just asking if you would prefer to have a spring or summer wedding? I personally prefer spring, when the flowers start blooming.”

“Sungho and I haven’t discussed it yet, but a spring wedding sounds lovely.”

Taeha looked pleased with Soojin’s answer.

“I can already envision it. We will have to start planning soon, since its already almost November. Actually, you know what, you can just leave it all to me, Soojin. If I wasn’t already an actress, I’m sure I would have been a wedding planner instead.”

Soojin was fine with that, since the wedding was never going happen. She couldn’t imagine something more monotonous than having to spend hours with Taeha agonizing over different tableware choices. Weddings never seemed to be worth the trouble families went through to host them. Didn’t most marriages these days end in divorce anyways? Soojin didn’t get the appeal. Feelings were fickle, and everyone wore a mask in an attempt to hide how they really felt. At least Soojin was honest about the masks she wore.

After a few more courses of food, Shuhua excused herself to the washroom after laughing at some inside joke with Sungho, leaving the three of them alone. 

Taeha was already working on her third glass of champagne, and Soojin could see the color in her cheeks as she spoke animatedly to Sungho. Mid-conversation, Taeha suddenly reached over to grasp Sungho’s cheek, closely examining it.

“You still have that scar that Sugar gave you.” She said, concern in her eyes.

Sungho quickly brushed her hand off his cheek, like a teenager who was embarrassed by his mom picking him up at school.

“Mother…”

“Sugar?”

Taeha turned to Soojin, eyes focusing despite the alcohol in her veins.

“You don’t know Sugar?” Taeha looked astounded.

Soojin quickly racked her brain. She didn’t remember Sungho ever mentioning Sugar in his file. She looked over to Sungho for support, but he merely continued drinking his wine like he didn’t notice her silent pleas. _Bastard…_

“Wasn’t that Sungho’s childhood dog?” Soojin guessed, hoping she was right.

Apparently, she wasn’t, because Taeha’s eyes narrowed even more.

“Sugar was Sungho’s horse.”

“Oh, I must have remembered wrong.” Soojin explained, trying to save face. She forgot that rich people bought extravagant things like horses for their children. What a waste of money.

“You know, I’m quite surprised you didn’t know that. Sungho spent almost every day with Sugar until Sugar bucked him off one day. He broke his collarbone and wrist and needed surgery. I’m sure you’ve seen the scars before?”

Soojin had to think quickly. Any normal fiancée would know about an event like that, especially if it left their partner with lifelong scars. Thankfully, this wasn’t the first time Soojin had to fib herself through a tight situation. She leaned forward, like she was sharing an intimate secret with Taeha.

“I’ve noticed the scars before, of course, but truthfully, Sungho was too nervous to tell me where he got them. I assumed it was a bad memory he didn’t want to relive, so I didn’t push the subject.”

Sungho finally joined in, apparently finished with his drink. His expression had changed from carefree to something much more intense. He looked aggravated that they were whispering about him right in front of his face.

“I hadn’t found the courage to tell Soojin yet, Mother.” He said with a cutting edge to his voice.

“I didn’t want to remember when my only friend was put down against my will. But thanks to your noisiness, now she knows.” He said loudly. He was drunk.

Taeha looked taken aback by Sungho’s outburst. Either he was a great actor, or Taeha had actually touched a nerve and he was genuinely angry. Soojin had a feeling it was the later choice, seeing as Sungho was fuming in his seat. It was the type of anger that only appeared when reminded of a past wrong.

Taeha seemed to be wavering between suspicion for their explanation and guiltiness for bringing up the subject. She ended up resorting to a tactic Soojin had seen before, which was complete neutrality.

“Sugar was sick. She had to be put down so she wouldn’t hurt you again—” Sungho slammed his hands down on the table, shaking the tableware.

“Do you truly believe the things you do for me are for my benefit? Or is that just how you convince yourself that you’re a good person so you can sleep better at night?”

Sungho looked like he was about to break all the dishes in front of him. Soojin wanted to try to comfort him in some way,—to help win back the trust from Taeha that they had lost—but to be honest, Sungho’s sudden anger scared her enough to leave him alone. It was obvious this fight ran deeper than any pet horse. This family always seemed to cut deeper than what was on the surface. Maybe this is how Sungho felt about Taeha sending him abroad at such a young age? Soojin wouldn’t be surprised. It was a surprisingly cruel thing, once you thought deeply about it.

Taeha was just about to defend herself, but instead Sungho stood up suddenly, knocking over his chair and storming off to the house.

Taeha brushed her hair back, trying to quickly regain her cool. She didn’t seem like a woman who was publicly embarrassed like this often, and Soojin felt a touch of pity for her despite the obvious mistakes she made when she raised her son.

Soojin wanted to offer comforting words, but the woman cut her off before she could say anything.

“Which dish was your favorite, dear?”

Taeha was a professional, Soojin could admit that. Pretending that nothing happened was most likely the way she coped with Sungho’s outbursts in the past, and her actor training must have been valuable to achieve that. Soojin played along, not wanting to lose even more trust from Taeha this evening.

“Oh… I thought the marinated crab was delicious. Thank you so much for the meal.”

Taeha smiled at her, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She looked at Soojin like she was finally noticing something for the first time, and Soojin felt her heat rate rise as she was examined.

“Where did Sungho go?”

Taeha and Soojin turned to see Shuhua reappearing, chocolate mousse in hand, which must have been stolen from the kitchen after she went to the washroom. Soojin realized they never even got to have dessert before the dinner blew up. At least Shuhua seemed to be enjoying it.

Soojin didn’t know if she was lucky or not that Shuhua wasn’t here during the fight. The girl luckily missed her slip up, but she also was probably the only person who could’ve helped calm down the situation. It was too late now, though, so Soojin had to think of some way to solve this situation.

However, Taeha was once again quicker than her.

“Shuhua, why don’t you show Soojin the boathouse while I go find your brother.”

Taeha didn’t leave any room for questions or arguments as she quickly rose from her chair and strode back to the house.

Soojin was left sitting alone at the table while Shuhua stood across from her, spoon halfway in her mouth as she ate her dessert.

“Did they fight?” Shuhua was perceptive, and Soojin should’ve expected her to figure out the situation quickly. It was her own family, after all.

“…”

“Oh, they definitely did. What was it about this time?”

Soojin knew she couldn’t lie about it.

“Taeha mentioned Sungho’s horse.”

Understanding blossomed on Shuhua’s face.

“Sugar? She should’ve realized that would’ve set him off. That was a few months before they shipped him off to boarding school, and Sungho has never forgiven them for that.”

Shuhua casually licked the remains of the mousse off her spoon before putting the glass down on the table. Shuhua waved to Soojin to get up, and she finally did, stretching her legs out after that tense dinner.

“Why did they send him away anyways? He’s never told me.” Soojin asked as they walked the pathway to the boathouse.

“I was too young to really know, but I always assumed it was because of his anger problem. It was pretty sudden though… Dad didn’t even tell him until a week before.”

Soojin could imagine the emotional turmoil Sungho must had gone through when he heard he was being sent across the world. He was barely a teenager. That would create bitterness in almost anyone, she reasoned.

“I’m not surprised he hasn’t told you, though. He’s never really spoken to me about it either. It’s probably the thing he’s most sensitive about.”

They finally made it to the boathouse door, and Shuhua’s previous confidence began to shrink as she fidgeted with the keys.

“I haven’t stayed here since I was a teenager, so don’t judge me for the decorations. And I can’t even remember the last time someone else has been in my room.”

“I promise I won’t judge.” Soojin said with a soft smile. Shuhua shyly smiled back at her, and Soojin felt warmth in her chest as their eyes met. Soojin liked this side of Shuhua much better than the cold glares she received when they first met.

Shuhua finally opened the door, and let Soojin in.

Soojin was amazed. The boathouse looked like it had been all built by hand, and the woodwork was breathtaking.

“My father was an amateur carpenter. He spent most of his time during vacation working on projects. He said that he would rather build things with his own hands than hire someone to do a worse job.”

Shuhua’s eyes were sad, but a smile lined her face as she thought about her father. Soojin’s heart broke for her as she took in the artistry around her. Jinhyung might have been a complicated man, but it really did seem like he adored his daughter. Shuhua’s name was carved above the closet doors, and a beautiful reading nook was built in front of the large glass window that overlooked the ocean. It was apparent that countless hours were invested into the design and construction of Shuhua’s room.

The centerpiece was the beautiful floral armoire that stood against the far wall. The flower designs themselves must have taken hundreds of hours to carve. Jinhyung may have only been an amateur carpenter, but his skills were professional level.

There were personal touches from the girl herself as well. Various cute plushies lay across the bed and couch, books and CDs lined the bookshelves, and the olive-green accents seemed to match the girl’s personality perfectly.

Soojin walked closer to the pictures that lined the wall next to Shuhua’s bed, trying to learn more about the girl’s interests.

There were plenty of pictures of dogs and family photos, but there were also movie stills and music posters.

Soojin remembered that she was supposed to have been raised abroad, so she pretended to play dumb.

“Who is this?” She said, pointing towards the music poster closest to her. Shuhua was sitting on the arm of the couch, shyly waiting for Soojin to finish investigating her room. Her cheeks went red when she glanced at the poster out of the corner of her eye.

“Oh, that was a girl group I liked when I was a teenager. They’re…whatever. You know.”

Shuhua was obviously embarrassed, but Soojin was enjoying it too much to stop.

“Ah. I think I remember hearing about them. They are really pretty.”

“I should probably take it down… I’m not really a fan anymore...”

“No, I like it. It’s a nice poster.”

“Oh… thanks.”

Soojin finally relented from her examination, joining Shuhua on the couch. She could hear the other woman let out a deep breath, like she had been preparing for Soojin to tear her room apart. Soojin almost chuckled, but did her best to hold it in. 

“So… what should we do?”

“We’ll think of something, I guess. But we’re definitely not allowed back out until Taeha tells us we are.”

“Really?”

“This is basically a time out. Taeha doesn’t want us to be around while her and Sungho duke it out. Doesn’t matter if we’re grown women or not.” Shuhua explained.

“That makes sense.”

“This is the crazy family you’re marrying into, so I guess you should get used to it,” Shuhua said with a sigh before continuing, “You still have time to back out, you know. Some of us aren’t so lucky.”

Soojin felt a tightness around her heart. She wished Shuhua didn’t have to feel that way. Something in her told her to try to cheer the other woman up.

“But how will I get my hands on Sungho’s money if I break our engagement now?” Soojin said with a sly smile.

Shuhua let out sputtering laugh.

“You’re funnier than I thought you would be.”

“I’m glad I exceeded your expectations.” Soojin responded back playfully. She wasn’t lying about that. Something about Shuhua made Soojin want to be liked, assignment or not. She craved Shuhua’s praise in a way Soojin hadn’t ever before.

They sat in companionable silence for a while Soojin tried her best not to think too deeply about the foreign emotions clouding her mind and heart. Suddenly, Shuhua’s shy voice broke through her thoughts.

“Can I see your tattoos again?”

Soojin was caught off guard.

“Are you really that interested in them?”

“I just wanted to see them before I decide if I want to get my own.”

“Fine.”

Saying no would only make things awkward, so Soojin lowered the cardigan she was wearing, revealing her bare shoulders. She felt naked as the cold air brushed against her skin, and she shivered as Shuhua leaned closer.

“Do these mean anything?” Shuhua said as she inspected the simple lines on Soojin’s neck and shoulders. Soojin could feel Shuhua’s breath brushing against the back of her neck, causing her to involuntarily shiver.

“They do.”

“But you probably won’t tell me what, right?”

Soojin’s felt the corner of her lips turn up.

“Probably not.”

Shuhua let out an exaggerated sign.

“They are really pretty.” Shuhua said, and soon enough Soojin felt a soft finger tracing the lines on her skin. The warmth from Shuhua’s finger trailed from her shoulder to her chest down to her lower stomach, and Soojin felt like she would burn up at any second.

“Did they hurt?” Shuhua accompanied this question with another brush of her fingers against Soojin’s neck. Soojin’s body reacted again, much to the embarrassment of her mind.

“A little bit at first. But not too much.”

“Was it worth the pain?”

“Don’t they say that things worth having are always painful?” Soojin said softly.

Shuhua only hummed at her answer, like she was thinking about it deeply. She must have been zoning out, because she continued drawing circles against Soojin’s skin with her fingers.

Soojin felt her breath speed up, and she tried her best to calm it down. The atmosphere of the room had shifted, and Soojin was too afraid to meet Shuhua’s gaze. The other girl was probably just examining her tattoos and Soojin was being weird about it. Soojin needed to stop feeling like this around her ‘fiancée’s’ sister. It was wholly unprofessional, and not to mention stupid. Something must really be wrong with her to feel like this. She needed to return to reality, quickly.

“Do you think Taeha and Sungho finished arguing yet?”

Soojin didn’t get an answer, but she soon felt a pair of lips press against her shoulder, leaving a gentle kiss against her heated skin. Maybe she wasn’t just imagining the tension between them. This was dangerous.

“I don’t really care,” was all Shuhua said before moving her lips to Soojin’s neck, laying another kiss against her other tattoo.

Soojin held in a moan as the girl pressed her body against her side, wrapping one hand around her waist as she brought the other one up to Soojin’s jaw.

Shuhua’s eyes were normally dark, but now they were pitch black, and Soojin couldn’t help but fall into them as the girl turned her face, finally connecting their lips together.

Soojin couldn’t remember the last time a kiss took her breath like this. All she knew right now was Shuhua. Her warm touch, the elegant perfume she had on, the taste of chocolate on her lips. They had been circling each other since they first met, and now that they had finally come together, Soojin didn’t want to be broken apart. The little sounds of pleasure Shuhua let out made Soojin feel like she had died and gone to heaven.

But this shouldn’t be happening.

“Shuhua…” Soojin tried her best to fight against it, but Shuhua’s touch had too much power over her.

In-between a series of open-mouthed kisses, Soojin tried her best to catch her breath, but Shuhua never gave her a chance. The woman was eager to please, and every satisfied moan Soojin let out only pushed her further. Their innocent kiss had already turned into an almost desperate embrace, and Soojin could feel her body responding intensely to Shuhua’s touch. The girl had pushed her against the arm of the couch, forcing Soojin to lean back as Shuhua lay over her.

Soojin finally came to her senses when Shuhua began nipping at her neck with no care about leaving hickeys where the whole family could see it. That would not be good. Soojin gathered all her will power to raise her hands and gently push Shuhua back by her shoulders, separating her lips from Soojin’s bruised neck. She needed this to end right now.

“Shuhua…Shuhua…what about Sungho?”

Soojin truly didn’t care about Sungho, but everything would fall apart if she didn’t play her part. When he asked her to get closer to Shuhua, this is definitely not what he meant. She already hated herself for this when she saw Shuhua’s expression change.

It was like her brother’s name had suddenly awoken her to reality. Shuhua’s hooded eyes abruptly widened, and she scrambled back to the other side of the couch, trying to get as much space between her and Soojin as possible. She looked horrified at what she had just done. Soojin felt her heart breaking when she saw the ashamed expression on Shuhua’s face.

“You should leave.” Shuhua’s voice was hoarse, and Soojin watched her bury her face into her hands, hiding any frustrated tears that were trying to escape.

“I’ll go now.” Soojin grabbed her coat and rushed out of the boathouse, her mind still trying to catch up to what just happened in the past five minutes. The cold wind brought her back to reality, far from the warmth of Shuhua’s embrace.

Shuhua had kissed her.

The worst part wasn’t that Shuhua had kissed her, but that she had liked it. She had liked it and she encouraged it further. She was surely going to be fired for this. Her career was finished, and she might as well start finding a life outside of Korea, because Taeha would destroy her life here when she found out about her lies.

Soojin felt herself panicking and tried her best to remember old techniques to calm herself down. Panicking wouldn’t help her and would probably only get her into deeper trouble. She had to figure out a plan that would keep her identity a secret while also somehow fixing things with Shuhua before they got too out of hand.

She needed to rest and get her mind clear. Shuhua’s warmth was lingering on her skin, and Soojin had to fight her instincts to wash it off in the cold ocean waves. Instead, she decided it was time for her to go to sleep.

* * *

Soojin ran back to the main house, hoping to bury herself in her sheets and sleep away the tension that was building in her body from all the dramatic events of the day. She had just entered the front entrance when she heard loud arguing coming from the attached living room.

“Sungho, just listen to me!”

“It’s not worth my time!”

Sungho stormed out of the living room after screaming at his mother. Soojin hid behind the large wooden column in the entry way, hoping he didn’t see her. Luckily, he marched past, too angry to notice anything outside of himself. Soojin could see him furiously typing a number into his phone as he stomped to the office room. Soojin peeked around the column again, and finally got a view of Taeha.

The woman was sitting on her knees before a broken picture, but the frame was too shattered for Soojin to make out the photograph. Soojin could hear quiet sobs as she held the picture close to her chest. Her hair and makeup were a mess, a far cry from the immaculate woman Soojin knew. Soojin was too far away to make out much of her cries, but the few words she heard through the sobs make her feel immense guilt for witnessing them.

_“Why did you leave me alone, Jinhyung?”_

The woman broke into sobs again, and Soojin couldn’t watch the scene for any longer. It was too sad.

She snuck her way back towards her room, ready for this horrible day to end, but soon noticed the office door wasn’t fully closed. Sungho must have slammed it so hard that it didn’t properly close. She could hear him speaking over the phone to whoever he had called earlier. She knew she shouldn’t stay, but there was a voice in the back of her head telling her she needed to find out what was happening. She leaned against the wall, getting into the best position to listen without being caught.

“Why is the current will over thirty years old? You’re trying to tell me that my father didn’t update it once in the past three decades?”

_Oh._

The other side was on speakerphone, as it seemed Sungho was pouring himself another glass of whiskey, allowing Soojin to hear the full conversation.

“I don’t know, sir. Your father’s lawyer said he redrafted one a few years ago, but he couldn’t find it anywhere. It’s missing.”

“Dammit!”

Sungho slammed his hands down on his desk, almost knocking over his bottle of whiskey.

“Currently, all of your father’s assets have been left to old business partners, since he had written this will before he had met your mother.”

Soojin couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“We can’t let that happen. Most of his previous partners run the competition now, and we would be finished if they got their hands on our company.’

“But sir—”

“You need to find that will. Right now.”

Sungho hung up the call before his lawyer could answer back and took a large sip of his drink. He looked like a different man in this light, with his angry expression, mussed hair, and loosened tie. This was his real self all along.

Soojin covered her mouth, trying her best not to be heard. This was something she was definitely not supposed to hear. Everything started making sense now, but Soojin still couldn’t understand her own part in this mess. And she was already in too deep to escape.

From Taeha to Sungho to Shuhua, this family was going to be the death of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we are! this chapter is really the big turning point for the story, so i hope you all enjoyed it! balancing all the different character motivations and relationships has been hard, so i hope it turned out well. 
> 
> I've also recently created a twitter for my idle fic writing, so follow me over there for updates :)  
> https://twitter.com/beneaththemask6


	5. Frozen Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soojin realizes she can't turn back.

Soojin hated hiking. She was a great actress, but this was pushing her limits. It was cold, wet, and way too early in the morning. Sungho, on the other hand, looked like he was having the time of his life. The ugly expression that stained his face the night before was gone, replaced with a peaceful look as they climbed through the brush. She could hardly recognize the drunk man that blew up at his mother the night beforehand; this was a person who smiled at the various birds they walked by and twirled a golden leaf between his fingers.

She didn’t know which version of Sungho was more dangerous.

They continued their silent hike for a few more minutes before Soojin’s yelp broke the natural peace of the morning.

Soojin had almost tripped over a root, but luckily caught herself before making a complete fool of herself. Sungho had noticed unfortunately, and he looked at her with a condescending expression.

“Is this your first time hiking, Soojin?”

Sungho had insisted on dropping the formalities when they were alone, just in case they slip up when they are around others. It made sense, but Soojin didn’t like how her name sounded on his tongue.

His eyes cut into her as he asked, an emptiness that didn’t match his friendly smile.

“I haven’t had much time to go out to the countryside before.”

“That’s unfortunate. Escaping from the ruckus of the city is good for the soul. We all need to take breaks from time to time.”

_Not everyone is fortunate enough to be the son of a multi billionaire with a private vacation home_ , Soojin wanted to say.

As they walked, Soojin could start to see the crest of the mountain rise in front of her. She had never been this high up before, and the air was beginning to thin. The sun, which had been hidden when they began their walk, was beginning to rise over the horizon, bringing warmth to the crisp autumn day.

“You’ve read Thoreau, haven’t you?”

Soojin nodded. It was typical reading for most anyone in the arts.

_“_ Then you must know this saying: _As long as possible live free and uncommitted.”_

“I do.”

A rich man—who owned everything he ever wanted and still wanted more—quoting Thoreau was a bit ironic. Soojin had a feeling Sungho didn’t derive the same meaning from the words as most others did. He seemed to enjoy twisting things to suit his own purpose.

“I like to see it as words to live by. I don’t like being held down by the rules of others. My father and mother sent me away at a young age, and I had to forge my own way. I live for myself, because no one else did. It made me the man I am today, but some scars cannot be erased so easily, despite my mother’s constant denial.”

Soojin was surprised Sungho was speaking so openly about this, especially after what Shuhua had told her. But she assumed that he was only doing it to save face after the fight put him in a bad light.

“So, I formally apologize for the incident last night. My mother often doesn’t know her place and oversteps boundaries.”

The way Sungho spoke about his mother left a bad taste in Soojin’s mouth.

“It’s alright. It’s normal for families to have arguments.”

“Normal families aren’t held to the same standard as ours, however. It’s a shame my mother can’t control her emotions, especially when she drinks. One paparazzi photo of her drunk and her career would be over.”

Sungho said it like it would be a slight inconvenience, instead of the reality of a forty-year long career going down the drain. It was cold, even for him.

“Your mother has been through a lot these past few weeks.” Soojin offered, trying to bring the heat down.

“Through what? Her ex-husband died after cheating on her and now she’s waiting for the check. Sounds like a happy life to me.”

Sungho laughed at his own words, and Soojin wished she could press harder about the apparent ‘check’ Taeha was waiting for, but she lost her opportunity when Sungho changed the subject.

“Mother told me you joined Shuhua in the boathouse after dinner, while we were having our… tête-à-tête. Have you made any further progress with her?”

Soojin felt phantom fingers brush against her collar, causing her to shiver. It was most likely a chill breeze, but she couldn’t forget how Shuhua’s touch felt against her skin. The way her lips burned against her own mouth, the way she sucked on Soojin’s pulse point, when her fingers slipped down to—

Soojin’s heart began to race, causing her to nervously readjust the scarf wrapped around her neck. There was no way Sungho could know what happened at the boathouse last night, but she never could trust his eyes.

Soojin quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head and answered Sungho as coolly as she could as they walked along the gravel path.

“There’s been steady improvement. We spoke a bit last night and I think she trusts me more now.”

“What did you discuss?”

_What did they discuss?_ In reality, they didn’t do much talking… Soojin had to think quickly.

“Ah. Just normal girl things. Wedding plans, dress ideas, catering options. Shuhua seems excited for the wedding now.” Soojin knew framing it like this would make Sungho less interested, and it looked like it worked when he just hummed in acknowledgement as they stepped over a fallen tree branch. His casual misogyny irritated her, but at least she could use it to her advantage. If he truly thought women were vapid, then she would be as vapid as she could be.

“I’m glad to hear that. Shuhua is a friendly person once you gain her trust. She’s not a very complicated soul.”

Soojin wanted to snort at Sungho’s oversimplification of his sister. Sungho may see himself as an enigma, but he was all too easy to read. He was deeply selfish, and only did things to benefit himself in the end. Shuhua, on the other hand, had deeper emotions than even Soojin could parse out. The girl was unpredictable, and it excited Soojin. Shuhua went from hating Soojin at one moment to laying hot kisses against her neck. Soojin had no idea where she stood with Shuhua now after their brief moment of rebellion, but her heart raced when she thought about seeing the girl again.

“She’ll hopefully help us with Taeha in the long run if your mother starts doubting us. She’ll be a good ally, even though she doesn’t know the truth of the situation.”

Soojin hoped she wasn’t overshooting her luck as she said that. She didn’t know what was worse, Shuhua thinking she was a complete fake, or Shuhua thinking their engagement was real, which made their kiss adulterous.

“My mother does listen to Shuhua for some reason, so you might be correct about that. Their relationship is hard for me to understand. Maybe it’s a woman thing.”

_Ugh._

They had finally made it to the top of the hill they had been climbing, and Soojin could see fields spread out in front of her, reaching all the way to the sea. Migrating birds flew high above them, and the frosted meadows shone in the morning light. Sungho let out a pleased exhalation as they surveyed the land below them. Soojin imagined him as a king on his throne, looking down at his newly conquered kingdom. His greed extended as far as the eye could see.

Unlike him, Soojin only felt emptiness as she looked down. The cold plains the stretched out in front of her felt foreign to her. She would much rather be in the warmth of the boathouse than on a mountain top. Her neck burned as she readjusted the scarf once again. Sungho didn’t need to see the hickey left under her jaw.

Sungho’s voice suddenly broke through her thoughts, shattering them like glass.

“Soojin, can I ask you a favour?”

Soojin loathed to do any favour for Sungho, but she couldn’t let that show on her face. She nodded.

“If you happen to see my mother searching around the property, or if she asks you for help, tell me right away. Keep your eyes on her when you can.”

_Was Taeha searching for the will as well?_

Soojin played dumb when she answered.

“Searching for what?”

Sungho shook his head with a teasing smile.

“Nothing important, only family matters. Just keep me informed, alright? This is what I pay you for.”

“I will.”

Soojin knew obtaining the new will was of utmost importance, since the Park family could potentially lose their company to their competitors, but she didn’t know why Sungho didn’t want Taeha to find it first. Did he suspect something about what his father had written in it? You would think they would work together to find it, but apparently not. Sungho was up to something, and it probably wasn’t good.

The location of the will intrigued her as well. Sungho seemed to suspect that Taeha was searching for it too, which led Soojin to believe that he also thought the will was hidden somewhere on the Jeju property. That would explain Sungho’s late night search in his father’s office that she ran into a few nights beforehand. He had probably been searching for it every time he had a moment alone.

Soojin wondered where it could be, and what it could entail for the Park family. Did Shuhua know about it? She doubted it. Shuhua didn’t seem very involved in the family’s finances. She lacked the greed. But despite Shuhua’s disinterest, the will greatly affected her life too.

Soojin had a feeling that things would spin out of control sooner than later.

* * *

It was about 9 am when Sungho and Soojin finally returned back to the property after their hike. Soojin’s face felt wind burnt and her fingers were numb. Sungho excused himself to the office, which filled Soojin with some relief. She didn’t know how much more time she could spend with him today without slipping up. She was tired, especially since she didn’t get any sleep last night. She needed coffee badly.

Taeha was out for her morning run, leaving Soojin alone in the kitchen. She let out an exhausted sigh as she drank her coffee, enjoying the expensive beans she had found in the drawer. Once she had the money, Soojin noted, she would buy some pricey coffee for herself. The taste of it brought warmth to her body that she had been missing.

Soojin turned on the kitchen television, needing some mundane background noise to break through the silence of the morning.

She was so deep in thought as she drank her coffee, she didn’t even notice the sliding door opening from the deck and Shuhua sneaking inside.

Shuhua must not thought Soojin was back from her hike yet, because she looked surprised—and a bit guilty—to see her now.

“Good morning.” Soojin offered, trying to sound causal. They weren’t in private in the kitchen, so she had to watch her words. Anyone could be listening in. Shuhua seemed to realize that too as she squeaked out an excuse.

“Sorry, I was just—I ran out of hot chocolate.” She explained, pointing towards the hot chocolate mix that sat next to the coffee maker. Shuhua was frozen in the spot, not fully in the kitchen yet.

Soojin giggled at her nervousness, hiding her own under an amused expression.

“Are you going to come in?”

That prompted Shuhua to notice how her feet had been glued to the floor, and she scrambled towards the kettle to heat up the water for her hot chocolate. They both stayed in their places, waiting in an awkward silence as the kettle heated up Shuhua’s water. Soojin argued with herself the whole time, trying to figure out what to say to Shuhua. And judging from Shuhua’s constipated expression, the other woman seemed to be doing the same thing in her own head.

Both women were taken out of their own heads by the loud whine of the kettle. Shuhua quickly mixed the hot chocolate in her mug, and looked like she was going to silently escape back to the boathouse before Soojin spoke up.

“You can join me, if you want.”

It took all of Soojin’s courage to speak up, but it paid off as Shuhua nodded and slowly walked towards the table Soojin was seated at. Shuhua made sure to make space between them as she sat down across from Soojin, not wanting to be too close. Soojin wasn’t offended by it; it made sense, especially after last night. They were merely future sisters-in-law, at least as far as Shuhua knew. No need to be close.

“Did you… have a nice hike?” Shuhua asked, uncertainty evident in her voice.

“It was alright…” Soojin answered, trying to figure out how to balance this conversation. They weren’t in a private enough space to talk about what happened the previous night, but she also didn’t want the conversation to be so boring that Shuhua would leave.

“I don’t think I ever want to go on a hike ever again, though. I thought my toes had frozen off.” She joked.

Shuhua awkwardly laughed before staring into her mug, and Soojin realized she needed to try harder. She nervously fidgeted with the scarf around her neck, trying to come up with a new subject.

“Are there things you like to do while you’re in Jeju?”

Shuhua gave her a strange look, but Soojin couldn’t blame her. It was weird to try to make small talk the morning after they shared heated touches. Shuhua went along with it, however, maybe because she had nothing better to do.

“Usually I would just read or go swimming while I was here. My dad brought me fishing a few times too.”

“That sounds nice…”

The awkward silence returned, and Soojin wanted to slap herself for being so bad at this. The only noise in the kitchen came from the television. Shuhua, on the other hand, must have suddenly felt emboldened by something, because she moved her gaze from her drink to Soojin.

“What are you really trying to do?” Shuhua asked pointedly.

Soojin wished she had her usual makeup and clothes on. She felt naked with her bare face and workout clothes. Sungho hadn’t given her enough time to get ready before dragging her out the door before sunrise. Her face was probably red, and there was no hiding the dark circles on her eyes. Shuhua could probably see right through her.

The younger woman continued as Soojin floundered.

“You’re getting married to my brother in a few months, and I’m supposed to be happy, but I realized I really don’t know anything about you.”

Soojin was caught off-guard, once again, by Shuhua’s bluntness. It was a far cry from Sungho’s slick words that always had three different meanings.

“What do you mean?”

“All I know is that you’re a photographer who grew up in France and met my brother in Italy. I don’t know about your family, or how you grew up, or anything you like to do. It’s weird, isn’t it?”

Shuhua was right. It was weird. Who wouldn’t be curious about the person that was marrying their sibling? Soojin felt herself being pushed into a corner, and knew she needed to talk her way out of it.

“There’s been so much happening in so little time, I guess we never really got to have a normal conversation.” Soojin said, an unspoken layer of meaning underneath her words.

Shuhua slightly blushed at that, but still didn’t back down.

“Tell me now. We have time.” Shuhua challenged, and Soojin took her up on it.

“Ask away.” Soojin leaned back in her chair as she spoke, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

Shuhua took a moment to think, her finger pointing at her chin as she thought about potential questions. The awkwardness from before had faded a bit, and Soojin was enjoying this playful side of Shuhua, even though Shuhua was interrogating her.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“No. I’m an only child”

Neither Seo Soojin nor ‘Soojin Kwon’ had siblings, so that was an easy one.

“What in your degree in?”

“Art history.”

It was actually in literature, but Shuhua didn’t need to know that.

“But you’re a fashion photographer now?”

“Being able to rattle on about dead artists doesn’t pay the bills.”

“Fair.”

Soojin felt herself starting to have fun with this too.

“What’s your favorite western food?”

“Carbonara. And crêpes.”

“Good taste.”

Just when Soojin was falling into the rhythm of the questions, Shuhua decided to throw her off.

“Is Sungho your first fiancée?”

Soojin took a moment to answer. Shuhua had a smile tugging at the end of her lips, obviously proud that she could throw Soojin off like that.

“Yes, he is.”

Actually, he was her eleventh. But none of them were real, so they didn’t count.

“Do your parents have any money? Or are they poor?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m still wondering why you’re with my brother. I feel like it’s a relevant question. And I want the full story.”

_The full story?_ Soojin had to be careful, but she also didn’t feel like outright lying. She had to find a comfortable middle ground.

“My parents…” How was Soojin going to word this. She didn’t have to use specifics, at least.

“My parents used to live comfortable lives. Growing up, I never needed anything, and they were able to send me to a good university without trouble. But… when I was in university, my father fell sick. My mother borrowed money that she couldn’t repay, and even after my father recovered, they were never able to repay their debts. It fell on me to do so, and I had to do it alone.”

Soojin had never told anyone that. She wasn’t sure why it was so easy to tell Shuhua, but the truth continued to flow from her.

“My parents were never particularly caring when I was growing up, and after they fell into debt, they became even more unsympathetic. They told me that I left them in squalor while living a luxurious life, even though almost my entire paycheck went to their debts. They weren’t thankful at all.”

Soojin had to hold back tears. Real tears, for the first time in so many years. It even took her a moment to register Shuhua’s comforting hand on top of her own. Shuhua’s eyes were shining with sympathy, and Soojin wanted to cry even more now.

“Is that true? Are you still paying off their debts?”

Soojin nodded while trying to brush her unshed tears away with her free hand.

“I’m just about to finish paying it off. A few more months, and I’m done.”

“Is Sungho helping you? Is that why you got engaged?”

Soojin shook her head no. Sungho was helping her in a way, by hiring her for this job, but not in the way Shuhua thought. She didn’t get a single dollar from her ‘fiancée’ out of his kindness. She was not a gold digger nor charity case.

“No. He isn’t. I haven’t even told him about my parent’s situation yet.”

“You haven’t? Why?”

“The same reason I wasn’t going to tell you or Taeha. I didn’t want to be seen as an opportunist.”

Shuhua nodded in understanding. The truth seemed to work better than lies when it came to her. It was like she could sense Soojin’s genuineness underneath all her superficial fabrications. Sungho didn’t need to know anything about Soojin outside of her work, but something about Shuhua made Soojin want to open up. It was dangerous, but she justified it as a way to win the girl back over after their mistake the previous night.

“I’m—I’m sorry for forcing you to talk about it. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

Shuhua was… apologizing to her? Soojin couldn’t believe it. Shuhua’s warm fingers interlaced with her own, the teasing playfulness from before melted into genuine empathy.

“You deserve to know more about my family too, since you’re marrying into all this craziness soon. You can ask me anything.”

Soojin took a moment to think. She had carte-blanche to ask Shuhua for answers to her million questions. Strategically, she could learn more about the will, or Taeha’s motives, or Sungho’s plans. But instead, she really just wanted to know more about the woman in front of her.

“Tell me about your life. When you were a kid.”

Shuhua smiled, an honest but sad look in her eyes. She was so beautiful that Soojin felt her heart stop for a moment.

“Ok. I can do that.” She took a deep breath, preparing herself to open up to this stranger that she had already formed a peculiar relationship with.

“After my mother died, my father suddenly moved us to Korea the day after the funeral. I only knew a few words in Korean, so I was an immediate outcast at school. Sungho protected me from some of the bullies, but he couldn’t always be there to save me. After my father and Taeha sent him away, I was all alone.”

This was heartbreaking to hear. Soojin assumed most of it but hearing it straight from Shuhua made her chest hurt all over again.

“My father was always away at work, so that left me with Taeha and the nannies. Taeha resented me from the start. She used to always mention how much I looked like my mother and would never let me forget that I was illegitimate. Every time she came to pick me up from school or attended one of my school recitals, she always had a frown on her face. It got better the older I got, but Taeha was never the mom I was supposed to have.”

Shuhua’s eyes were dark with past memories. Soojin felt the need to comfort her.

“Shuhua, I’m—”

“It’s ok. It’s been years. I’m over it.”

She said it casually, but she couldn’t hide the hurt from her expression. There was so much to Shuhua, and Soojin felt like she had only scratched the surface. Soojin wanted to know more about Shuhua’s life and thoughts.

Soojin was suddenly broken out of her reverie when she heard light footsteps coming up the stairs from the wine cellar.

Soojin realized their hands were still intertwined on the table, her thumb rubbing gentle circles on the back of Shuhua’s hand. She pulled hers back quickly, startling Shuhua. The other woman was about to say something when Taeha entered the room, wiping sweat away from her forehead. She must have recently returned from her morning run.

Soojin wondered what Taeha was doing down in the wine cellar so early in the morning. _Was she on the hunt for the will as well?_ Taeha didn’t look suspicious, but Soojin knew she was a great actress.

“Good morning girls! Let’s have coffee together.” Taeha waved at them as she prepared her own drink. All the strife from the previous night was erased from her face. Again, Taeha’s acting training seemed to be worth every penny. Soojin was amazed at how quickly she could switch emotions, and partially wished she could ask her how she did it.

Soojin was still processing everything that had gone on with Shuhua, so she remained quiet as the two other women chatted. Well less “chatting” and more “Taeha chatting to Shuhua, who just nodded her head every few sentences.” Even though Shuhua was the colder one now, it seemed like Taeha really wanted to make amends for her past mistakes. She even gave Shuhua a fresh chocolate croissant to appease the other woman, and it appeared to be working, judging from Shuhua’s happy expression.

“Soojin, did you have a nice morning hike?” Taeha turned to her with a smile.

“It was a little chilly, but it was very beautiful. I couldn’t believe how far I could see from the mountain top.”

“I’m glad Sungho brought you there. Not many people get to experience beauty like that.”

Soojin remembered what Sungho had told her on the hike, to keep an eye on his mother, and wondered why he saw his own mother as such a threat. Was Taeha planning something she didn’t know of? She watched the woman as she enjoyed her coffee, trying to figure out what she could be hiding.

“Do you enjoy hiking, _eomeonim_?”

“Only from time to time. I’m not as young as I used to be, sadly.”

Taeha was gorgeous for a woman already deep into her fifties, so Soojin couldn’t believe that age was much of a matter for her.

Soojin readjusted her scarf out of habit again, and Shuhua’s eyes watched her closely as she did. Soojin could tell the exact moment Shuhua realized what was hidden under the scarf, because a smug smile lit up on the other woman’s face as she ate her croissant. Soojin wanted to die of embarrassment. She still didn’t know where they stood about the kiss, but Shuhua looked awfully proud of the hickeys she left on Soojin’s neck for someone who was supposed to be a supportive sister-in-law. She wondered if Shuhua would had left marks on other parts of her body too…

“Soojin, are you cold? You haven’t even taken your scarf off yet. I can turn up the heat if you would like.” Taeha said, thankfully interrupting the inappropriate path Soojin’s mind was going down.

Soojin saw Shuhua hold in a laugh as she rushed to answer.

“Oh! I’m ok. Just haven’t gotten to get changed yet.” She stuttered out. She really was losing her touch, and it was all Shuhua’s fault. She made sure to send the other woman a cutting glance after Taeha was distracted.

Shuhua merely ignored her and continued enjoying her breakfast. After offering a scone to Soojin, Taeha started eating her own, leaving them in silence as they enjoyed the expensive pastries.

Soojin’s eyes turned to the kitchen television, wanting to distract herself from Shuhua. The channel was playing an old romance film that Soojin vaguely remembered from her childhood. The male lead was currently injured after a scrap in a bar, and the female lead was cleaning his wounds.

“Taeha, isn’t this one of your films?” Shuhua asked.

It was, because a young Taeha was looking back at them from the TV. She must have been in her early twenties, because she didn’t yet have the refined look she would gain in her later films. She looked raw and innocent, and Soojin could see why this was her breakthrough movie. The scene began heating up as the leads started leaning towards each other.

Taeha did not look happy to see her own face on the screen.

“Let’s change the channel! I’m not a fan of watching my past projects. My narcissism can only go so far.”

Taeha got up from her chair to search for the remote.

Soojin continued watching the scene, and as the leads began kissing, Soojin noticed an interesting birthmark on the male lead’s shoulder. It was a dark spot that ran from his shoulder down to his collarbone. Soojin was trying to remember what the actor’s name was, but it eluded her. All she remembered was that he used to be a big deal, but she didn’t know whatever happened to him.

Taeha finally found the remote and clicked the television off, but she looked more shaken than Soojin expected from an actress seeing her past works. Maybe Taeha was extremely self-conscious about her past acting? Soojin could kind of see how that could fit into Taeha’s strict personality.

“I’m going to get washed up. I’ll see you girls later.”

Taeha left the kitchen as quickly as she entered, leaving Soojin and Shuhua to look at each other in confusion.

Soojin was just about to continue chatting with Shuhua when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She checked the screen, where the calendar notice had popped up.

_How did I forget!_

She only had ten minutes left until the phone call, so she excused herself and made her way to the rocks at the end of the beach, far away from curious ears. Shuhua didn’t look too bothered to be ditched by Soojin so quickly. She probably just wanted to enjoy her pastries in peace after their deep talk, and Soojin couldn’t blame her. She could only handle so much in one day as well.

Just as she settled down, she heard her phone ringing, a call incoming from an unknown number.

“Hello? Who is this?” Soojin asked out of habit, despite already knowing who was on the other end.

“It’s me, Soojin. Didn’t you know? Or did you forget me already?” The familiar voice responded in mock surprise.

“Of course it is, Soyeon.” Soojin rolled her eyes. Her handler laughed at her annoyance, like she could see Soojin’s frown from hundreds of miles away.

“How is it going? Feeling like a trophy wife yet?”

Soojin let out a defeated sigh. She really wasn’t in the mood to be teased right now. Soyeon must have heard her sigh, so she changed her tone to a more serious one.

“That doesn’t sound good. Is everything alright?”

“Everything is… ok.” She couldn’t bring herself to lie to Soyeon. Something about the other woman always kept her truthful, despite their entire careers being based around lies. They might have met through work, but Soojin considered Soyeon as one of her only friends, and she knew the other woman felt the same. She was happy when the agency paired them up as a team.

“And what does ‘ok’ mean?”

“The Park family is much more complicated than we expected. Sungho didn’t just hire me to be his fiancée.”

“What do you mean?”

“He wants me to keep an eye on his mother. And his sister as well. He’s up to something, but I don’t know exactly what.’

“His sister? The daughter of the late second wife? She’s there with you?”

“Yes, Yeh Shuhua.” Even saying her name out loud made Soojin feel strange. Like she was sharing a secret that only belonged to her.

“Has she been suspicious of you at all?”

“She was but… it’s complicated.”

“How complicated?”

“Shuhua’s gotten more involved in this than I had hoped. But I’m sorting it out.”

“Are you sure? We can cancel the assignment if it gets too risky. I could get you home by tomorrow.”

Soojin knew they couldn’t make a clean break like that so easily when it came to Sungho. She had to see this to the end.

“It’s fine, really. If anything else happens, I’ll make sure to contact you.”

“Soojin, just be careful, alright?” Soyeon said, worry still evident in her voice.

“I will. I promise.”

* * *

The rest of the day went by smoothly, thankfully. Soojin spent most of her time reading a book by the fireplace while the others did their own things as well. Taeha was knitting, Sungho was doing work on his laptop, and Shuhua was taking a nap.

After dinner, both her and Sungho had showers, and she was reading her book on their bed when he came out of the bathroom in his robe. They had found a strange truce in the bedroom, with him never invading her boundaries while they were forced to stay together. He probably knew that as soon as he made her feel uncomfortable, she would leave, ruining whatever plans he had. Sungho didn’t seem like a very lustful person either, especially compared to some of her previous clients. He longed after money and power, not the touch of a woman. They usually spent their nights in silence while they kept themselves entertained, and Soojin didn’t mind much. When they fell asleep, there was always almost two feet in between them, thanks to the enormous king-sized bed in the guest room.

“Did my mother say anything to you today?” Sungho moved to lean against the drawers across from Soojin. He was sipping on another glass of whiskey.

Soojin wasn’t going to tell him about Taeha’s strange reaction to the movie or her morning search of the wine cellar. She had to choose the information she told him wisely.

“Nothing of particular interest. We just had coffee.”

“What about Shuhua?”

“She was too busy stuffing her face to talk to me today.”

Sungho definitely didn’t need to know about their heart-to-heart.

“Sounds like her.”

“So, nothing much to report.” Soojin concluded as she closed her book.

Sungho let out an impatient sigh.

“This is a time sensitive issue, Soojin. I need you to try harder.”

Soojin stood up, meeting Sungho eye to eye. She didn’t appreciate being spoken to like a dog.

“If you just told me what this was all about, it would be easier for me to what you want.”

That must have been the wrong thing to say, because Sungho’s expression turned icy before stepping forward towards her.

Sungho grabbed Soojin’s arm, pulling her closer to him. This was the first time he had ever touched her so aggressively, shocking her too much to react right away.

“You need to listen to me, Soojin. I’m in charge here, not you.”

His glare was ice cold, just like his fingertips that were digging into her skin.

Just as she was about to respond back to him, she heard loud footsteps quickly approaching the room. Soojin realized they were in a compromising position, with Sungho’s strong grip turning her forearm red. If Taeha saw them like this, she would kill her son for touching his fiancée like that. As much as she wanted that to happen, it would throw a serious roadblock into her assignment.

She quickly thought out a plan, and pushed Sungho down onto the bed, straddling him. The surprised expression on his face was quickly hidden by Soojin’s lips pressing down on his.

His lips were dry, and his mouth tasted like whiskey. The hair on his face scratched her own face, and his touch was limp. Soojin would gag if she wasn’t a professional. It was nothing like the last kiss she had, but it was the best plan she could come up within a split second.

Hopefully finding them in a such a compromising position would force Taeha to think twice before walking in on them in the future. That would kill two birds with one stone.

She heard the door open, and the footsteps entered.

“Hey Sungho, the lights in the boathouse keep flickering—"

That wasn’t Taeha.

Soojin pulled back, but it was too late.

Shuhua was standing in the doorway, a distressed expression on her face. Her eyes met Soojin’s, and she looked like she was about to cry.

“Shuhua, wait!”

Soojin didn’t know why she said that, but it didn’t work. The woman left as quickly as she entered, leaving the door wide open in her wake.

Soojin looked back down under her where Sungho was lying. He looked annoyed.

Soojin’s hands had pushed Sungho’s robe back while they were kissing, revealing his bare chest and shoulders. And on his shoulder lay a long birthmark, almost the exact same as the actor in the movie earlier.

_What kind of coincidence was that…_

Before Soojin could think about it any longer, Sungho had pushed her off of him, pulling his robe back on quickly, covering up his skin once again. He had a haughty expression on as he regarded Soojin.

“You can go figure out what her problem is. I’m going to sleep.”

“And Soojin?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t ever touch me like that again without my permission.”

Soojin wanted to argue back, tell him that she only did it to help him out, but there were more important things to do now.

She wrapped her coat around her and ran out to the boathouse.

* * *

The lights at the boathouse were off, but Soojin could see candles lit through the window she walked past.

She knocked lightly on the door, and did it again after a few awkward moments of waiting. She hoped Shuhua would open up so they could at least talk.

Soojin knew she shouldn’t be apologizing for kissing someone who was supposed to be her fiancée, but she found herself wanting to do it anyways.

It was starting to get colder out, the freezing wind cutting through Soojin’s light pajamas. She could only stay outside for a few minutes more before she would be forced to go back inside the house, so she hoped Shuhua would let her in sooner than later.

She tried one more time before she would head back in defeat.

“Shuhua, it’s me. Please let me in.”

Silence.

Soojin was just about to walk away when she heard the lock shift. The door opened, and Shuhua moved out of the way to let Soojin in. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her gaze remained on the floor as Soojin walked past her.

The room was dark, with the only lights coming from the candles that were spread out across the furniture. Shuhua went to sit on the couch, and Soojin followed. The space between them felt like miles. She tried her best to forget what happened on this couch only a day ago.

“The power went out.” Shuhua said, voice hoarse.

“Is there anything we can do to fix it?” Soojin asked, delaying the actual conversation they should be having.

“No, it’s fine. This happens to the boathouse a lot. I’m going to call someone tomorrow.” Shuhua was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, not looking at Soojin as she spoke to her. Her voice was quiet, with sadness and frustration bubbling up underneath it.

An uncomfortable silence followed, forcing Soojin to finally speak up.

“Shuhua, I’m really sorry you saw that.”

“Why? Because I interrupted you?”

“No, no. That’s not it.”

“Then what?”

Soojin took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She couldn’t let her emotions take control of her now and reveal more than she should.

“I’ve been sending you mixed signals, and it’s unfair to you.”

Shuhua scoffed.

“Don’t be so self-centered that you think it’s all on you. I was the one who kissed you in the end.”

Soojin wanted to laugh. The other girl simultaneously insulted her while taking the blame. She really was something else.

“That’s true. But I should have stopped it, instead of kissing you back.”

“So you really did kiss me back?” Shuhua said, a small hint of hope in her eyes. This woman really seemed to hang onto everything Soojin said. And Soojin was no different.

“Yes… I did. And it’s too late to take it back now. I can admit that I… didn’t hate it.”

A small smile lit up Shuhua’s face, and Soojin was grateful for the candlelight so she could witness it. But the smile soon disappeared when reality hit her.

“But what about my brother?”

_What about him?_ The only feelings Soojin felt towards him were disgust and suspicion. Shuhua, on the other hand, made her feel warm and excited.

But Shuhua couldn’t know that.

“My relationship with your brother… is more complicated than you think.”

Shuhua leaned forward, empathy in her eyes. She closed the gap between them, grasping Soojin’s hands gently between her own.

“Is it about money? I can give you whatever you need for your parent’s debts. You don’t have to marry him to save yourself.”

Shuhua was too pure for this world. Soojin could easily con her out of thousands if she was a less scrupulous person. Soojin was overwhelmed with affection for this strange woman.

“It’s not about money…. It’s just hard to explain. Sometimes—sometimes we don’t get to choose our own paths in life.”

If Soojin could choose, she would ask Shuhua to run away with her, make a new life somewhere else far from both of their families. But she had too many delicate things resting on her shoulders to escape her responsibilities now.

“I understand that. Ever since my mom died, I haven’t made a single choice for myself. My whole life has been controlled by my family. What I do, where I study, who I meet…”

“Shuhua…” Soojin grasped her hands tighter.

“The first real choice I made in my life was kissing you.” Shuhua said, conviction in her eyes.

Soojin could say the same. It was the first time in years that she truly felt she was doing something she desired.

Shuhua may not know the shallow details of her life, but she somehow reached deep into her heart. In this soft candlelight, Shuhua looked more beautiful than anyone Soojin had ever seen.

“I’m glad you did.”

Soojin wished she could tell Shuhua everything, but she couldn’t. She hoped the other woman could read her heart through her eyes instead. Soojin never trusted words anyways.

Shuhua leaned forward on the couch, brushing her hand against Soojin’s sensitive neck. Her fingertips caressed the purple bruises that were beginning to form near her collarbone. Her expression looked guilty.

“I’m sorry for hurting you. I have some makeup you could borrow. And a cold pack.”

Shuhua was about to remove her hand when Soojin covered it with her own, pushing it back against the heated skin of her neck.

There was a question on Shuhua’s face as their gazes met. Soojin was quick to answer it.

“I liked it.”

She looked deep into Shuhua’s eyes as the younger woman’s hand caressed her face. Soojin was about to do something incredibly irresponsible, but she couldn’t stop it. Shuhua was pulling her in with her gravity, and Soojin could only let her.

She leaned forward, finally capturing Shuhua’s lips between her own. Shuhua immediately kissed her back, no doubt feeling the pull between them as well. The kiss started out slow, letting them explore each other with no rush or time limit. Soojin was sure Sungho and Taeha were long asleep by now, meaning they would be alone until morning.

Before long, Shuhua had taken over the kiss, pushing Soojin back onto the couch in a familiar position. She straddled Soojin, her hands resting above Soojin’s head. Warmth spread from where their hips met, and Soojin craved friction. She managed to keep herself under control, however, as Shuhua looked down at her in admiration. The look in her eyes was so pure Soojin almost wanted to cry.

“What about my brother?”

Soojin couldn’t really care less about Sungho while Shuhua has her trapped between her thighs, but the rational part of her brain remembered that from Shuhua’s perspective, Soojin was cheating on her brother with her. Shuhua was technically “the other woman.”

Soojin decided to be nonchalant about it all. No need to push the question any longer while she was under the woman her whole body desired.

“What about him?”

Shuhua considered Soojin’s playful answer for a moment before moving to lay a kiss on her collarbone. She breathed out her next words against Soojin’s neck.

“I’ll make sure to leave more marks where no one else can see.”

Soojin felt her entire body heat up after she heard Shuhua’s words. She wrapped her arms around Shuhua’s neck and brought her in for a deep kiss. Shuhua’s body was warm against her own, and fit perfectly against her. They were both in their night clothes, only separated by thin layers of fabric.

Shuhua let out small noises of pleasure as they kissed, and Soojin snuck her hands into the back of her night shirt, brushing her fingertips against the dip in Shuhua’s back. The younger woman shivered as she felt Soojin’s hands on her bare skin.

Shuhua moved downward, nipping at Soojin’s collarbones while her hands moved under her shirt to cup her chest. She was definitely aiming to mark Soojin all over.

As they were kissing, Shuhua shifted, accidentally pushing her thigh between Soojin’s legs. Soojin let out a quiet moan into the younger woman’s mouth, shocking her out of her daze. Soojin continued grinding against Shuhua’s thigh even as Shuhua froze. Shuhua’s cheeks were bright red and she brought up one of her hands to cover her face. All her previous confidence had gone up in smoke.

“Sor—sorry!”

Soojin slowly opened her eyes, confused why Shuhua had stopped. When she saw the embarrassed expression on the younger woman, she let out a giggle.

“Why did you stop?”

Shuhua looked like she was going to combust.

“I don’t know much… about all this. I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.”

Soojin found her adorable as she blushed. She wasn’t surprised Shuhua was new at this. The other woman was sheltered her whole life and held back from living her own life. Soojin was flattered to be the first one Shuhua let in like this.

“I’ll lead you.”

Soojin took Shuhua’s hand in her own and brought her finger up to her lips. She lay a single kiss on Shuhua’s fingertips, causing the younger woman to shiver in anticipation. She couldn’t help but smile at how cute Shuhua was. Then she brought their hands down to her waist band. Their eyes met, a silent agreement passing between them before Soojin slipped Shuhua’s hand between her legs.

“Oh. Wow.”

Shuhua’s fingers were frozen for a moment while her brain caught up to the situation. When it finally did, she flexed her fingers experimentally, brushing against Soojin’s most sensitive spot.

“Oh, Shuhua… right there.”

Shuhua listened well, because she continued her motions exactly where Soojin wanted. She was gentle and hesitant, but that only made Soojin heat up more. Her past lovers never had this sense of gentleness and care, and Soojin felt like something precious .

“Is this good?” Shuhua’s voice was excited but unsure.

“Yes… right there.”

For a self-proclaimed beginner, Shuhua was a fast learner. Soojin could feel herself quickly approaching the edge, and tried her best to hold back. She usually wasn’t this sensitive, but Shuhua’s touch affected her more than anything.

“More, Shuhua. Please.”

Shuhua did as she was told, determination and wonder on her face as Soojin shivered under her.

When she finally slipped her fingers into Soojin, she couldn’t hold back anymore. Soojin hadn’t felt this connected to another person in her whole life.

“ _Shuhua…”_

She pulled Shuhua as close to her as possible, breathing hard into her neck as she went through the aftershocks. The younger woman led her through it, only stopping when Soojin weakly pushed her hand away when she was feeling oversensitive.

They lay together for a few peaceful moments, enjoying each other’s body heat in the dark of the boathouse. Soojin had never felt more content than at this moment. Maybe all of this chaos had been worth it in the end.

The couch was getting a bit uncomfortable, so after laying a sweet kiss on Shuhua’s cheek, Soojin led them both to Shuhua’s bed.

She pushed Shuhua back against the headboard, a desirous look in her eyes as she surveyed the younger woman. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair had been mussed by Soojin’s desperate hands, and her night shirt was partially unbuttoned. She was beautiful.

Shuhua was breathing hard, her anticipation rising as she watched Soojin steal a hair band off of the bedside table and tie her long hair up.

She reached for Shuhua’s pajama pants, slowly pulling them down her snow-white legs. Shuhua’s breathing got faster as more of her skin was revealed. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath, and she broke eye contact with Soojin as shyness overtook her. Soojin only smiled before laying a soft kiss on Shuhua’s inner thigh.

It seemed like Shuhua had finally realized what Soojin was planning to do, because she let out a surprised yelp when she felt Soojin’s lips on her skin.

“Are you sure?” The younger woman looked like she was going to faint as Soojin wrapped her hands around Shuhua’s thighs. She reminded herself to leave a few marks on them as revenge for her neck.

“Trust me. I want this even more than you do.”

Shuhua’s head fell against the headboard like she couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She couldn’t even meet Soojin’s focused gaze as she responded.

“I’m ready.”

Soojin left one more gentle kiss on her thigh before leaning in.

* * *

When Soojin woke, it was still dark outside. She guessed it was only 4 or 5 in the morning. The warm body wrapped around her pulled her tighter, and Soojin felt happiness flow through her. She couldn’t remember the last time she woke up with someone else in bed with her. Shuhua’s little snores were adorable, and Soojin couldn’t help but brush the girl’s messy hair out of her face, revealing her beauty. Shuhua looked even more innocent when she was sleeping, and Soojin felt something thaw in her heart as she stared at the younger woman. She just felt like this was right. Like she fit here perfectly.

Unfortunately, their time was almost up. Soojin knew she had to shower and get dressed before returning to the main house. She couldn’t have Taeha becoming suspicious of her relationship with Shuhua. Sungho would be even worse.

With all her will power she pulled herself out of bed. The movement must had woken Shuhua, because the younger woman let out a groan.

“Come backkkkk.”

Soojin giggled at how cute she looked, but she knew she couldn’t relax now.

“It’s almost dawn, Shuhua. I need to go back before anyone notices I’m gone.”

That seemed to wake Shuhua right away, as her eyes shot open. Her expression looked upset.

“I hate this.” She grumbled.

“I know. But we can shower together first if that makes you happier.”

It did, because Shuhua’s face completely lit up at the thought. She was completely awake now.

Shuhua leaned forward to lay a kiss on the tip of Soojin’s nose before jumping out of bed.

“I’ll go turn the water on for us and get it heated up. There’s an extra robe for you in armoire. The door gets jammed easily so just shake it a bit.” 

Shuhua disappeared into the bathroom, and Soojin made her way to the armoire. She made sure to take a moment to appreciate its beauty. Jinhyung had really done something special. Soojin wished she could have met him, just to understand all his conflicting layers. A businessman and an artist. A husband and an adulterer. An absent father who cared.

She reached to open the armoire, but the door was stuck, just as Shuhua had said.

Soojin’s hand slipped as she tried to shake the door open. It hit the flower pattern that was carved into the wood, and she felt something give way as her hand hit it.

The wood strip had shifted, opening a hidden drawer carved into the armoire. Soojin couldn’t help but open it, her curiosity once again getting the best of her.

In the drawer lay a plain folder. On it, she could see the Park family seal stamped in blood red. Soojin felt her heart drop.

“Are you coming?” Shuhua called from the bathroom.

“In a moment!” Soojin responded, her voice shaky.

Her hands reached for the folder. She had to know if it was what she thought it was. It would change everything.

As she opened it with shaky hands, a dark thought fought its way to the forefront of her mind.

_Did Shuhua hide this from everyone?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so! this chapter is a lot, i know. i hope you all enjoy it
> 
> also, you may have noticed that I added another chapter and changed the rating! the chapter number may increase to 8 later, but it really depends on how i split up the chapters! i don't want the story to drag on too long, but I also want to give it space to breath too
> 
> another reminder: I'verecently created a twitter for my idle fic writing, so follow me over there for updates :)  
> https://twitter.com/beneaththemask6


	6. Flower Bookmark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soojin and Shuhua make a discovery. And go fishing.

“Soojin, are you coming to shower?”

Shuhua walked up behind her, wrapping her arms around Soojin’s waist and resting her head on her shoulder. It had been a few minutes since Soojin had said she was coming, so Shuhua wanted to check on her. Soojin was standing still, her eyes focused on the papers in her hands. Her hands were shaking in disbelief that the woman she trusted had kept this from her.

“What’s that?” Shuhua asked as she left a soft kiss on Soojin’s neck. The other woman didn’t respond. Shuhua finally noticed the strange tension in the room, and gently turned Soojin around to face her. Soojin’s eyes were still locked on the papers in her hands. Shuhua put her hands on Soojin’s arms and looked down at what she was holding. The yellowed folded paper in her hands didn’t seem interesting enough to elicit the reaction Soojin was having, so Shuhua looked back up at her face.

When Soojin finally met her gaze, and there was a deep hurt reflected in them.

“Did you know about these?” Soojin asked as she moved out of Shuhua’s embrace, an accusatory tone in her voice. She clenched the papers in her left hand.

Shuhua backed up, confusion on her face after Soojin’s attitude suddenly changed.

“Know about what?”

“Did you hide these?”

“Hide what?”

Soojin was getting frustrated now. Was Shuhua playing dumb this whole time?

“Were you trying to use me?”

“Just tell me what it is!” Shuhua finally yelled back, her heart hurting at Soojin’s accusations.

“They’re letters… from your father to your mother.”

Shuhua froze.

“My father’s…letters?”

The confusion and hurt on Shuhua’s face looked real. Her eyes dropped back to the papers in Soojin’s hand, and she looked at them like she had just had her entire world turned upside down.

Soojin might have read the situation wrong. All her anger disappeared in a flash as she saw Shuhua’s heartbreaking expression. She took a deep breath before continuing.

“I just found them. In the armoire. You have to tell me now, did you know about them?”

“No… I didn’t.”

Soojin believed her. She wished she could take back the hurt she already gave to Shuhua, but there were more important things to deal with now.

“I’m sorry, Shuhua. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“It’s ok.” Shuhua mumbled. Soojin felt horrible but continued on. The things she had read in the letters had changed everything and Shuhua deserved to know.

“You—you should read them.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Shuhua…”

“Why would I want to ruin my life any more than it already is? My parents are dead and I can’t trust anyone in my family. I don’t need to see the proof of my parents’ cheating now too. Taeha had already rubbed it in my face enough growing up.”

“Shuhua, please trust me. It’s not like that. You really need to read them.”

Shuhua gave her a sad look, like she wanted to accept Soojin’s words, but couldn’t.

“Fine. I’ll read them.”

Shuhua was still out of it from the whiplash of the morning, so Soojin gently grasped her hand and led her to the couch. She gave Shuhua the letters, and made the girl sit between her legs, embracing her from behind. It was all she could do now, especially after the strife she had just caused. Shuhua had to face her own family secrets now. Her hands were shaking as she sorted through the letters to find the first one, so Soojin wrapped her arms around her waist to comfort her.

Soojin rested her chin on Shuhua’s shoulder as the younger woman read through the letters, reading them again as Shuhua did.

_May 2 nd, 1994_

_Dear Miss Yeh Hsin-yi,_

_It was so nice to meet you at the conference. Your opinions on Korean-Taiwanese relations were refreshing, and your humor was as well. Since my business is aiming to further expand into Taiwan next year, I would like to offer you a position on the transition team. Your language skills and business knowledge would be invaluable to our company._

_Thank you for lending some of your time to me,_

_Park Jinhyung_

_November 24 th, 1995_

_Dear Miss Hsin-yi,_

_I will be taking my leave to Taiwan next week. My wife’s filming has been extended, so she will be staying in Busan for a month longer than expected. She says this movie will be her big break, and I really hope it is. I need to escape the dreary Seoul weather, so I decided I would come check on the Taipei offices in my free time. If you’re available, I would like to extend an invitation to you for dinner with the rest of the office to thank you all for your hard work during these difficult times._

_August 25 th,1996_

_Dear Miss Hsin-yi,_

_Thank you so much for the well wishes. Taeha is doing well, and her and our son have finally returned from the hospital. I couldn’t be happier. As you know, we had many difficulties conceiving, so Sungho is our little miracle._

_Taeha wants us both to go back to work as soon as possible, but I told her that raising Sungho took priority. My wife has had awful mood swings, but my mother-in-law tells me that is quite normal for new mothers. Do you know of any traditional medicine I can purchase that will help her? If I remember correctly, your mother worked as a midwife for many decades._

_On a happier note, I’ve recently bought property on Jeju island where I hope to build a cabin for my family. I’ve always wanted to live where my ancestors resided, near the sea, and I’m sure Sungho will love it as well when he gets older. Salt and sand are in our blood, after all._

_Thank you so much for handling everything in my absence,_

_Park Jinhyung_

_September 13 th, 1998_

_Dear Hsin-yi,_

_Thank you once again for saving the deal I almost let go of due to my sheer arrogance. I don’t know what I would do without you. Ever since the financial crisis, you have been the only employee who has managed to keep me grounded and focused on improving our company. My wife says I’m too hot headed, but that’s like the pot calling the kettle black. Thank you for helping me keep my cool. You’ve become an invaluable employee, as well as a trusted friend._

_Many Thanks,_

_Jinhyung_

_May 5 th, 1999_

_Hsin-yi,_

_I don’t think my son is mine._

_I cannot look my wife in the face anymore._

_I will be coming to Taiwan next week._

_Can I stay with you?_

_September 15 th, 1999_

_My dear Hsin-yi,_

_This is wonderful news. As soon as I got your message, I couldn’t stop crying tears of joy. Is this what it feels like to finally have a child of your own? I know you must be worried because of my marriage, but my wife and I haven’t slept in the same bed since Sungho was born. I’ve been waiting for her to admit that Sungho is not mine, but she continues to pretend. I was planning on telling her that I want to separate the same day I received your letter. It must be fate._

_I hope we have a beautiful daughter together._

_Love, Jinhyung_

_June 17 th, 2001_

_Hsin-yi,_

_My wife wants to reconcile. She says that Sungho deserves to have two parents in his life. It’s been two years since we separated, and she still won’t admit her unfaithfulness. She doesn’t know about Shuhua yet, but I’m afraid she’ll use her against me if she finds out. I cannot bear to think about Shuhua being used as a pawn in her petty battles. It will be better if I deal with this quickly. I will already be on the plane back to Seoul by the time you read this, as I couldn’t bring myself to look you in the eyes as I tell you this. I apologize for being such a coward, and I promise I will return to you as a better man once I sort this out._

_Tell Shuhua I love her, and I promise I will see her soon._

_I love you,_

_Jinhyung_

_August 20 th, 2006_

_Hsin-yi,_

_I can’t do it anymore._

_I’ve prepared the papers for divorce and my lawyer will give them to Taeha next week._

_Let’s go get married._

_February 14 th, 2009_

_My beloved Hsin-yi,_

_I miss you. Come back to me._

Once Shuhua reached the last letter, she let them fall to the ground, spreading across the hardwood floor. Soojin held her tighter as Shuhua crumpled into her.

Shuhua was crying, sobs barely under control as she clenched the hem of her shirt tightly. Soojin could feel the emotional turmoil that was washing over Shuhua as she processed the words. Where could she even start? Finding out how her parents met, seeing her father’s anguish after her mother passed away, or maybe the fact that Sungho might not even be her brother?

It all made sense now to Soojin. The ‘extended filming’ Jinhyung referred to must have been the film they had watched in the kitchen, with the actor whose birthmark matched Sungho’s. He could be Sungho’s true father, and the reason why Taeha was so upset when she saw the movie again.

After a few minutes of heavy crying in Soojin’s embrace, Shuhua finally began to catch her breath. She rubbed the tears from her red eyes and sat up stiffly. It was like she finally realized where she was and what was happening around her. Shuhua moved out of Soojin’s arms, and sat on the other side of the couch, a look of confusion and betrayal on her face as she looked at Soojin.

“Did you know? Did Sungho tell you? Did you come here to trick me?” Shuhua said in-between shaky breaths.

Soojin felt an arrow go straight through her heart. She did come here to trick Shuhua at first, but now she couldn’t even imagine betraying the other woman. She tried her best to push her true feelings into her words.

“No. I didn’t know about this until now. I’m not here to hurt you, Shuhua.”

Soojin wanted to embrace the other woman again, but she held back. Shuhua looked hard at her, like she was seeing Soojin for the very first time. Soojin felt bare in front of her.

“How can I trust you?”

Soojin didn’t deserve Shuhua’s trust, but she still wanted to do everything she could for the other woman. She couldn’t wait and watch her suffer at Sungho’s hands.

“You don’t have to. Just let me help you.”

Shuhua thought over it, gazing deeply into Soojin’s eyes like she was trying to dig something out of the dark depths.

“Help me with what?”

“I think I know what Sungho’s planning.”

Shuhua’s expression turned changed to confusion.

“You do?”

“I overheard him speaking to his lawyer. He wants to find your father’s will. Not the old one they have right now, but the more recent one. He ordered his lawyer to search everywhere. I think he’s going to alter it before anyone else finds it.”

Soojin was sure that was the end plan. All of Sungho’s actions pointed towards it, including her own employment. She had been hired as both a distraction and a spy, and Sungho thought she wouldn’t notice. Or maybe he just assumed she wouldn’t care. Either way, he was proven wrong the moment Soojin laid her eyes on Shuhua.

“Why would he alter it?” Shuhua’s mind wasn’t moving as quickly as Soojin’s at the moment, but she couldn’t blame her after everything she had just been through.

“Because Sungho might already know that he’s not Jinhyung’s child. He might have been left with absolutely nothing in the will, and he would never let that happen.”

“Do you really think Sungho would do that to me?”

Shuhua might have less qualms than others would about sleeping with her brother’s fiancée, but it was apparent that she still loved her brother. When they were younger, he was her protector and only friend. Soojin felt guilty for being the one tearing them apart, but Sungho was too dangerous to be left alone.

“Shuhua,” She said, grasping the younger girl’s trembling hands between her own, finally closing the gap between them.

“He might take it all; the company, the mansion. Even here.”

Soojin could see Sungho selling the Jeju property to the highest bidder, ridding the Park family of their last connection to Jinhyung and his ancestors. The one place Shuhua belonged would be gone.

“Sungho treated you well because you were never a threat. You were just the daughter of the late mistress. But now, if he finds out you’re the only legitimate Park child and he’s not… he’s going to come after you.”

“How do you know all this? Is Sungho really like this?”

“Desperate men do things that they would never imagine doing normally. I think your brother is quickly approaching his limit.”

Soojin had seen desperate men before, and if they weren’t so dangerous, they would just be pitiful. She didn’t want Shuhua to be hurt when Sungho eventually lashed out. Shuhua looked upset by this revelation, but she didn’t deny it.

“Your father must have left those letters here for you for a reason. Maybe he hid the will for you too.” Soojin reasoned. Maybe there was another secret compartment in the armoire?

“Maybe… but we still don’t know if the will is even here in Jeju. He didn’t leave any hints.”

Shuhua words came out frustrated, but she mostly sounded tired.

“We can look deeper into it later. We only have so much time before I need to go back. I should probably go shower—”

Soojin made to get up, but Shuhua grabbed her by the wrist before she could leave the couch.

“Can you… just stay here with me for a little bit? I don’t want to be alone yet.”

Shuhua’s voice was small, and Soojin couldn’t say no. She moved back to her spot before pulling Shuhua to lean against her, resting the younger woman’s head on her chest. Soojin began brushing her hands through Shuhua’s long black hair, and Shuhua let out a sigh. They fell into a peaceful quiet as Soojin comforted Shuhua.

“My mom used to do this when I was upset. She always played with my hair and told me never to cut it.”

Soojin couldn’t say the same about her own mother.

From what she read in the letters, Shuhua’s mother seemed like a very kind woman. Nothing like the image of the traditional “other woman.” Her relationship with Jinhyung seemed to be based off of mutual respect and years of slowly growing love, and Soojin’s heart broke thinking about how it ended. She heard from Sungho that a car accident in Taipei ended Hsin-yi’s life, but didn’t want to ask Shuhua for the details.

“I wish we could’ve seen your mother’s responses. She seemed like a wonderful person.”

Shuhua nodded in agreement, burrowing herself deeper into Soojin’s embrace.

“I wish my mom was here. She would know what to do.”

Soojin did as well. She wanted to know how Shuhua’s mother would feel about the situations her daughter was placed in. Jinhyung’s letters gave a hint about how Hsin-yi’s personality was, but Soojin wished she could know more about her.

The silence lingered until Shuhua spoke up again.

“Will you call off the engagement? Or are you still going to get married to Sungho?”

Soojin didn’t know how to answer her. She wanted to tell Shuhua the truth, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it yet. Shuhua had already dealt with so much in so little time, and telling her the truth right now wouldn’t help anything. She needed to protect Shuhua first from Sungho’s machinations, and then she could come clean. If Shuhua never wanted to see her again after that, Soojin would understand. But until then, she will stay by Shuhua’s side.

“I think the best thing right now would be for me to stay close to him, just in case I can learn more about his plan. The engagement needs to continue until we find the real will.”

Shuhua grumbled but didn’t argue with Soojin. Even she knew it would be better to be in Sungho’s good graces right now.

Soojin was a professional, and she would see this assignment until the end, no matter the outcome. She just hoped she wouldn’t make a mess out of everything.

Soojin held onto Shuhua until the sun rose, the first unwelcomed rays of light forcing them to finally break apart. It was time to return to reality.

* * *

Soojin couldn’t look at Taeha and Sungho the same after what she discovered.

They were both drinking coffee by the fireplace when Soojin came into the house, and she could feel eyes on her when she walked towards them with a smile.

Sungho didn’t look surprised to see her, but Taeha looked curious.

“Did you stay over with Shuhua last night?”

Soojin had already thought of a good excuse while she was walking back. She had a feeling she would be asked where she was.

“Oh yes. I went over to help her with the power outage, but when it didn’t come back, she asked me to stay over during the snowstorm.”

It sounded believable. Not too elaborate or too vague.

“That’s sweet of her. I’m glad you girls had time to bond.”

Taeha sounded genuine, but Soojin couldn’t be too sure. She now knew what type of woman Taeha was now and didn’t trust her. 

She didn’t see Shuhua for the rest of the day, but Soojin was fine with that. She knew the other woman needed time alone to process everything she had learned. She would also look suspicious if she spent too much time with Shuhua, so instead she spent time fixing the electrical box with Sungho and cooking dinner with Taeha.

“Can you hand me the salt, dear?”

Soojin did as she was asked and continued working on cutting the vegetables. She didn’t know what to say to Taeha. Learning about her past actions really made Soojin feel conflicted about the other woman. She still wasn’t sure what Taeha’s end goal was, or if she really was searching for the will as well, but Soojin had to stay on her toes. Taeha didn’t seem to be aligned with Sungho, however, and Soojin could use that to her advantage.

“I’m really so glad you and Shuhua have been spending time together.” Taeha said as she deboned the fish she was cutting up.

“It’s been nice meeting a friend around my age here in Korea. I don’t really know anyone else.” Soojin responded, remembering that she’s supposed to be a foreigner.

“Shuhua didn’t have many friends growing up, so I’m glad to see her being so friendly with you now. I was worried about her after her father passed, but thanks to you, she seems to be doing better than I thought she would be.”

Soojin was trying her best to connect this Taeha with the one described in the letters. Jinhyung was convinced that Taeha would use Shuhua against him when she found out about her, but now Taeha was speaking about the girl like she was her own daughter. Something wasn’t lining up in Soojin’s mind, like a critical piece of information was missing. Either that, or it was just the simple fact that human emotions were much more complicated that anyone really knew. A spurned ex-wife raising her husband’s love child wasn’t the craziest thing that had ever happened, but Soojin just wished she could dig deeper into Taeha’s psyche.

“I didn’t have many friends either growing up, so I guess we can relate to each other.”

Soojin wasn’t lying. She was the weird quiet kid in class who cried whenever someone tried to speak to her. She mostly spent time by herself growing up, neglected by her parents. She didn’t really have any friends until she met Soyeon; it was hard to make friends when you lived a double life.

Taeha sighed.

“I was the same. My parents didn’t have much money, so I usually spent my time helping my mother do dishes at the restaurant below our apartment instead of playing with the other girls. I wish I could have had a sister-in-law as sweet as you after I got married, but Jinhyung only had older brothers.”

Soojin didn’t know that Taeha grew up poor, but it seemed like an important factor to acknowledge. Would someone who grew up poor have a higher chance of being greedy than someone who grew up rich? Would that be a driving point for Taeha to do everything she has done, and a potential reason for her to want to find and alter the will of her ex-husband? Was she doing all this just for the money that she never had as a child?

Soojin didn’t know. In her own personal experience, people who grew up rich were always greedier than anyone else. They had a voracious appetite and were never fully satisfied with anything. Taeha seemed like someone who enjoyed the finer things in life, but Soojin never saw the same greed in her eyes that Sungho had. That had to count for something, right?

Dinner was a quiet affair without Shuhua, who had claimed she wasn’t feeling well, and Soojin spent the whole time looking between her ‘fiancée’ and his mother, trying to figure out what she was missing. It felt like it was just out of sight.

* * *

Sungho never ran out of surprises. He woke Soojin bright and early, once again, and told her that they were leaving for a day trip. It wasn’t until she made it down to the docks and spotted Shuhua with a similarly grumpy expression on her face that she realized they were going on a fishing trip. Shuhua eyes were barely open as she stood hunched over on the dock, and Soojin found her incredibly adorable. Sungho went to greet the fishman who had docked his boat on the end of their dock, so Soojin moved to stand next to the half-asleep girl who was leaning on a wooden pole.

“You were dragged out here too?” Soojin said with a chuckle.

Shuhua barely glanced at her, tiredness still winning over politeness. It was cute.

“Taeha told me that Sungho wanted both of us to go. To relive the old days with dad.” Shuhua said that a touch of bitterness in her voice, and Soojin checked over her shoulder before laying a comforting hand on Shuhua’s own.

“Do you think he’s trying to do anything?”

Shuhua shook her head slowly.

“This is pretty normal for us. This fisherman has taken us out for years. I still don’t know how I feel about my brother, but he’s probably just trying to do this for nostalgic reasons. If he was trying to do anything shady, I would tell you.”

“Ok. I trust you.”

Shuhua finally opened her eyes, meeting Soojin’s gaze. She smiled softly at Soojin for the first time since they argued, and Soojin felt her heart melt. But before she could say anything, Sungho walked back towards them.

“Mr. Kwon will be taking us out for the day. He’s a trusted family friend, so don’t worry about any sneaky paparazzi photos.”

Sungho said that with a laugh, like the invasion of their privacy was just a joke.

“Shall we go?”

Sungho held out his hand, and Soojin took it. They walked ahead, with Shuhua trailing behind. Soojin hated the feeling of Sungho’s skin on her own, but she had to keep up the act. She didn’t need Sungho finding out she was in a deeper relationship with Shuhua, and she didn’t need Shuhua to know she had been working with Sungho. She really put herself in a bad situation, and she only had herself to blame.

“This is your future wife?”

The fisherman, Mr. Kwon, looked like someone who had worked hard with his hands his whole life. Soojin was sure that when he was younger and in his prime, he probably could have lifted a whole tree if he really tried. Now, he just looked aged, all sunburnt wrinkles and rough hands. His voice wasn’t unpleasant, but Soojin still felt on guard. She couldn’t get a good read on him.

“Yes, this is Soojin Kwon, my fiancée.”

“Kwon? Maybe we’re family!” He let out a dry laugh, evidence of decades of heavy smoking. He looked very much like the image of a fisherman that would come to Soojin’s mind if she ever thought about it. Soojin was just about to give a polite response when Sungho beat her to it.

“Soojin is from Europe, so most likely not.”

He said it like he wouldn’t even entertain the chance that his fiancée was related to a lowly fisherman like Mr. Kwon. Even close family friends didn’t seem to be respected by Sungho.

Mr. Kwon didn’t seem to pick up on this hostility, or just didn’t care, and laughed again instead.

“Well, it was worth a chance! Why don’t we head out now?”

For such a scruffy looking man, Mr. Kwon had a beautiful fishing boat. No wonder this was the boat Jinhyung would take his family out on. It was spotless, with all the fishing equipment carefully laid out for them. It was large enough to carry at least twenty people, but they had it all to themselves. Surely the Parks could afford their own boat, or even ten, but Soojin began to understand why Jinhyung preferred fishing with the locals instead as they sped out to sea. Fishing was a communal activity, and Jinhyung probably used it as an escape from his formal life in Seoul. Shuhua had mentioned his fishing trophies before, and Soojin wondered how often he would come out to the sea just to feel normal again. She could understand the appeal. The wind was only a gentle breeze, and the mild waves rocked the boat in a soothing rhythm. It was chilly out, but pleasantly so. It was refreshing.

She looked over at Shuhua, who was leaning over the side of the boat, eyes looking deep into the distance. She looked at peace for the first time since Soojin had met her. Soojin wondered if she was remembering past memories with her father; they probably spent a lot of time together out on the sea. Shuhua looked beautiful like this, with her messy bun and bare face, cheeks reddened by the cold air. Soojin felt a sudden urge to kiss the other woman, but held back. Her goal for this trip was to further convince Sungho that she was on his side while also trying to get more information out of him. She wanted to spend time with Shuhua, but her task was more time sensitive and important.

Mr. Kwon handed out the fishing rods and tackle boxes once they were far enough out and set anchor.

“Has a city girl like you ever fished before?”

Soojin shook her head.

“I’ll teach you the ropes then, pretty lady. Can’t have us coming back empty handed!”

Soojin noticed Shuhua giving Mr. Kwon a dirty look from the side and had to keep in a laugh. Mr. Kwon seemed harmless, but Shuhua didn’t seem to appreciate him calling Soojin ‘pretty lady.’

“I would be grateful for your help, _seonsaengnim_.” Soojin said with a thankful bow. Mr. Kwon looked completely smitten.

Sungho called Shuhua over soon after, and they set out their own bait while Mr. Kwon taught Soojin the basics. Soojin watched the siblings as they interacted, and she was impressed by Shuhua. She was really doing a good job playing along with Sungho, not looking like she knew too much. Sungho looked like he was enjoying his time lecturing his sister on proper fishing etiquette, and Shuhua was teasing him back.

While Mr. Kwon was teaching Soojin how to cast, they heard a sudden yell from the other side of the boat. They ran back over to the Park siblings, who were working hard to reel in a fish. Sungho’s arms were shaking as he reeled in, and Shuhua leant over the side of the boat, ready to grab the fish.

Soojin watched as the siblings worked together, moving like a well-oiled machine. Jinhyung must have taught them well. They were soon graced by the image of large mackerel flopping on the deck of the boat. Sungho and Shuhua were both beaming with pride. Soojin was sure Jinhyung was smiling down at them, despite everything that has happened. These small moments of family love made Soojin feel awful about what was going to happen soon.

Mr. Kwon came up behind Soojin and began cheering, before pushing Soojin towards Sungho.

“Your hubby just caught us dinner! Give him a kiss!”

Mr. Kwon was laughing, but Soojin knew she didn’t have a choice. It was a normal—albeit sexist—request from an old man, and she had an identity to uphold.

She gave Mr. Kwon her most sickly-sweet smile before turning to Sungho and placing her cold hands on his cheeks, pulling him down for a kiss. 

It started out as a peck, but Sungho soon deepened the kiss, like it was a challenge, and Soojin didn’t want to back down. She kissed him just as passionately and tried to pretend he was someone else.

When they finally surfaced for air, Soojin heard clapping.

“Wow! You two will have kids in no time, I already know it!”

Soojin tried to stop the uncomfortable blush that spread across her cheeks. Sungho simply laughed and pulled Soojin into his embrace.

“I would certainly like that.”

Soojin felt like she wanted to throw up a little bit. Having children with Sungho sounded like her own personal hell, and even entertaining the idea made her feel sick. Sungho was pushing to see how far he could take this, and Soojin had to pretend that she was falling into his trap.

“One step at a time, honey.”

Soojin responded with a forced giggle before laying a kiss on Sungho’s cheek.

When she finally turned away, she noticed that Shuhua was staring at her with burning eyes.

The other girl looked like she wanted to rip Sungho’s hands off of Soojin’s waist, and Soojin tried her best to apologize to her through her eyes before Shuhua got even more angry. That would definitely ruin their plans.

Finally, after a tense moment, Shuhua sulked away, returning to her abandoned fishing rod. Soojin let out a relieved sigh and went back to her own.

For another hour, they were stuck sitting on the boat, waiting for another catch. Soojin wished they could head back in, but Mr. Kwon was convinced that they could get more if they just stayed patient.

The men sat facing the port side of the boat while Shuhua and Soojin sat side by side on the starboard side. They had a bit of privacy thanks to the large centre console that was in the middle of the hull, blocking the view to their side. But voices carried far on gentle days like this out at sea, so Soojin didn’t dare speak to Shuhua outside of the usual expected conversation topics. She could clearly hear what Sungho and Mr. Kwon were discussing even though they were facing the other side of the boat. It was nothing particularly interesting, as they were just chatting about old memories of Jinhyung, but she was sure Sungho would try to listen into her own conversation if he could.

She wasn’t even sure if Shuhua wanted to speak with her after her kiss with Sungho, seeing as the younger woman looked like she was going to blow a fuse. Soojin kept her gaze out to sea,

Soojin felt herself getting tired, the gentle rocking of the boat and quiet of the sea lulling her to sleep. Not a single fish tried to take her bait, and she was bored. She definitely wasn’t cut out for this. She propped her head onto her hand, reasoning that she could get a quick nap in before Mr. Kwon brought them back to land.

Just as she was falling asleep, she felt a warm hand on her knee.

She opened her eyes, meeting Shuhua’s curious gaze as the younger woman slowly moved her hand higher to Soojin’s thigh. Shuhua had a mischievous grin on her face but was playing innocent.

“Do you need something?” Soojin asked. Shuhua’s hand was slowly moving up and down her thigh, gradually moving closer and closer to her centre.

“Nope, just enjoying the view.” Shuhua said, barely hiding her smile.

“People usually enjoy views with their eyes, not their hands.” Soojin deadpanned back. She didn’t want Shuhua to know how much her touch affected her.

“Why can’t I use both?”

Soojin couldn’t believe Shuhua’s boldness. She watched the girl’s hand move up her jeans, now brushing her inner thigh. Her fingers were too close but not close enough at the same time. Shuhua was playing with fire now.

They locked eyes again as Shuhua’s fingers pressed against the centre seam of Soojin’s jeans, causing the older woman to let out a quiet whimper. This was definitely not the place to get worked up, but Soojin was trapped in Shuhua’s orbit.

Just when Shuhua’s fingers landed on Soojin’s zipper, they heard a yell from the other side of the boat.

“I got one! I got one!”

Soojin stood up, suddenly awoken from the daze Shuhua’s touch had put her in. She pushed Shuhua’s wandering hand away, realizing how dangerous it was. Shuhua looked disappointed when she moved away, but she didn’t say anything. Soojin needed some space to breath.

“Ah! The little bugger got away!”

Soojin made her way to the other side of the boat to find Mr. Kwon and Sungho looking miserably over the side of the hull, their eyes following their lost catch into the distance.

“Excuse me, is there a washroom I can use?” Soojin hoped the blush on her face just looked like windchill to the men.

“It’s actually called a ‘head’ on a boat.” Sungho said condescendingly, and if Soojin wasn’t so flustered by Shuhua, she would have rolled her eyes.

“Yes, there is,” Mr. Kwon answered, “just down the steps in front of the centre console. It’s a tight fit but better than holding it in!”

Soojin quickly made her way down to the head. She closed to door lightly behind her before looking at herself in the mirror. She looked like a mess, with her hair tangled from the wind, the flush on her cheeks and her nose red from the cold. Her stomach still felt warm from Shuhua’s touch. The girl had become bolder. Soojin’s kiss with Sungho must have really bothered her, and Soojin felt a weird sense of satisfaction that she could make Shuhua jealous. It was only a few weeks ago that the other woman wanted Soojin to prove her love for her brother, and now Shuhua was acting like Soojin belonged to her. The other woman didn’t know the whole truth behind Soojin and Sungho’s engagement yet, so maybe she thought Soojin still harbored some sort of real feelings for Sungho. Sungho, on the other hand, still thought Soojin was loyal to him only. Soojin never imagined finding herself in a strange “love” triangle between siblings, but this is what her life has become.

She splashed her face with water, trying her best to calm down. She had to stay cool and collected, despite the stress Shuhua and Sungho were putting her under.

Just as she was wiping the water from her face, the door behind her opened. Was Sungho coming to annoy her again?

“Excuse me—”

Soojin was suddenly pushed against the sink, desperate hands grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her into a heated kiss. For a moment, she was going to push the figure away, but familiar lips met hers and she melted into the kiss.

Unlike the cold touch of Sungho, Shuhua was all heat and fire. She had Soojin trapped between her arms, pushed up against the sink. Due to their height difference, Shuhua stood on her tippy toes, trying to get a dominate position on the taller woman.

Soojin couldn’t help but moan when Shuhua began focusing on her neck, leaving new marks on top of her still-healing bruises. Her hands moved down Soojin’s sides, pushing up her jacket and pressing against her sensitive skin.

Shuhua began kissing down to Soojin’s chest, slowly unzipping her jacket and unbuttoning the warm flannel shirt she had worn underneath. While she lay a kiss against Soojin’s heartbeat, her hands deftly undid Soojin’s jeans. Soojin couldn’t believe this was happening. Only a few minutes ago she was half asleep on an old man’s fishing boat, and now she was just about to be pleasured while her fake fiancée was only a few metres away.

Shuhua had worked her hand into Soojin’s pants, brushing against the seam of her underwear when the older woman suddenly grasped her by the wrist, awakening to the reality of their surroundings.

“Shuhua…. We need to stop.” Soojin tried her best to slow down the situation. This was not exactly the best place to have sex with your fiancée’s sister. She pushed Shuhua back by the shoulders, and the younger girl finally moved back.

“What are you doing?” Soojin asked, catching her breath. Shuhua’s eyes were still hooded and dazed. Her hands remained on Soojin’s stomach, palms burning against her skin.

“I hated seeing him touch you.”

Shuhua was being possessive, and Soojin felt her stomach heat up again at the thought. It wasn’t like the way men were possessive, owning women like objects. Shuhua just wanted all of Soojin, and Soojin couldn’t say that it didn’t excite her.

“I’m sorry about that. I just don’t want him to become suspicious of us.”

“How long do we have to pretend?”

Shuhua pouted, and Soojin felt her heart break a little. She wished she didn’t have to lie and pretend, but it’s just how the pieces had fallen.

“Just until we solve the problem with the will.”

Soojin didn’t know what would actually happen after she betrayed Sungho. She could be run out of the country, lose her job, or be rejected by Shuhua for lying. The prospects were grim, but she tried to stay positive.

“I don’t want to share you anymore,” Shuhua said unhappily, before leaning forward and resting her head against Soojin’s shoulder. Soojin embraced her in a hug, the heated atmosphere from before quickly turning into one of consolation. Soojin couldn’t remember the last time she hugged someone this comfortably. Shuhua’s touch, which had scorched only moments ago, was now warm like embers.

Soojin wished she could stay down here forever with Shuhua in her arms, but soon sound of the motor starting broke the silence in the small room. They must be heading back now.

Shuhua finally pulled back from their hug, her eyes landing on Soojin’s exposed neck.

“You should pull your scarf up again.”

Soojin felt her face flush when she looked in the mirror and saw the fresh red marks on her neck. She could see Shuhua look smug behind her in the reflection.

“I’ll get back at you for this eventually.” Soojin said while hastily rearranging her scarf.

“You can try.” Shuhua said with a wink before exiting the washroom.

When they returned to the deck, Sungho and Mr. Kwon looked like they hadn’t even noticed they were gone. Soojin felt a slight sense of relief at that as they speed back to shore.

* * *

After they returned to land, Soojin found herself in Shuhua’s bed once again. The younger woman had promised her warm tea after their chilly sea outing, and Sungho didn’t seem to care where Soojin went. However, the teatime quickly devolved once the door to the boathouse closed, and soon enough Soojin was pushed against the headboard with her shirt pushed above her chest and Shuhua’s head between her thighs. She never did get to take revenge on Shuhua for the marks on her neck, but she was too occupied to care. Shuhua told her she was going to erase Sungho’s touch, and she didn’t stop until Soojin couldn’t handle it anymore.

After they got cleaned up, it was already around 4 in the afternoon. They still had a little time before family dinner, so they relaxed on the couch, Shuhua’s head in Soojin’s lap as they re-examined the letters that Jinhyung left for Shuhua.

“Your father definitely left the letters for you on purpose.”

“I know. But I don’t know why.”

Soojin’s brain was overheating as she tried to figure out if there was a hidden meaning in Jinhyung’s words. She re-read them over and over again, trying to pull meaning out of nothing. It wasn’t until she was almost at the end of her rope that she had noticed the faint numbers and symbols in the bottom corner of the paper. She immediately sat up and laid out as many of the letters as she could onto the coffee table.

“Shuhua! Look at the bottom corner.”

The other girl’s eyes widened when she noticed the writing too.

“Put the letters in date order.”

They worked together to organize the letters, and Shuhua grabbed a piece of a paper and pen to write down the numbers that had formed.

“37.544, 127.041.” Soojin hoped they had organized them correctly.

“It’s… coordinates?” Shuhua said, peering down at her own handwriting.

Soojin quickly grabbed her phone and put the numbers in. The map app took a moment to load, but when it had finally found the location, Soojin almost dropped her phone.

Shuhua looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

“Shuhua, it’s the mansion. The will is at the mansion.”

The coordinates lined up perfectly with the location of the Park’s mansion. Jinhyung must have left the letters here on purpose so only Shuhua would find them, but he kept the will separate for some reason. Did he really not trust the rest of his family? Why was Shuhua the only one he left this for?

“What should we do? We aren’t supposed to go back to Seoul for another two weeks. What if Sungho’s lawyer finds it first?” Shuhua said worriedly. Soojin laid a hand over Shuhua’s own, trying to calm her down. The reality of the situation was dawning on Shuhua. If Sungho got the will first, Shuhua might lose everything she had left of her father.

“I think I can trick Sungho into making us go home early.” Soojin said with confidence. If there was anything she was good at, it was using her silver tongue to get men to do what she wanted.

“You can?”

“Yes. Just leave it to me. I’ll go find him now.”

Soojin got up to leave, but Shuhua grabbed her by the wrist before she could walk away. The younger woman looked at her with a sad look.

“Are you going to be ok to be alone with Sungho?”

Shuhua was being protective and it made Soojin’s heart hurt. She leaned down to leave a sweet kiss on Shuhua’s forehead before the girl finally let her go.

“I’ll be ok, I promise.”

* * *

They were already eating the second course when Sungho finally spoke up.

“I think it would be best if we returned to Seoul tomorrow.” Sungho looked over at Soojin as he made his announcement, discretely acknowledging her.

Taeha looked surprised, but quickly shielded her expression. On the other side of the table, Shuhua did her best to pretend to be surprised.

Soojin remembered her conversation with Sungho from before dinner.

_“You know, your mother did mention something interesting while we prepared dinner last night.” Soojin said as she stood across from Sungho in their bedroom. She had met up with him soon after leaving Shuhua in the boathouse._

_“What is it?” His curiosity looked piqued. Soojin knew she had his full attention._

_“She said she needed to return to Seoul soon.”_

_Sungho’s eyebrows raised._

_“Is that true?” He looked surprised by the information._

_“Yes. She sounded quite urgent too.”_

_A smirk spread across Sungho’s face. He must have thought he had it all solved now. Just a few days of searching and the will would be his._

_“Thank you for relying this information to me. I’ll make sure to give you another raise for your help.”_

_“It’s really no problem. Just doing my job.”_

Sungho fell for the bait, and Soojin felt proud.

“You want to return to Seoul tomorrow?” Taeha asked. To anyone else, Taeha’s voice sounded casual, but to a fellow actress like Soojin, the cracks in it were apparent.

“Yes, mother. I have work to do, and Soojin has meetings with fashion magazines that cannot be pushed off any longer. And I’m sure Shuhua would like to get back to her studies.”

“Are you sure?” Taeha asked, looking around the table.

“Yes. Why, did you want to stay longer?” Sungho challenged.

“No, I’m fine with anything. I just thought it would be good for you all to stay out of the city for a little longer, to take more time to heal.” Taeha reasoned.

“I think the healing is all done. Work won’t wait forever.” Sungho said bluntly.

“Ok. Well, fine. I’ll arrange for the car to pick us up early tomorrow morning.” Soojin knew Taeha was confused, but the woman did well to hide it. Taeha’s acting skills worked to Soojin’s advantage.

Soojin and Shuhua’s eyes met from across the table, both satisfied with how their plan worked out. They couldn’t get too overconfident, however. Soojin knew that Sungho and Taeha were still formidable opponents.

“Perfect.” Sungho said, learning back in his chair with a satisfied smile. He probably thought he had already won. As she looked at his smirk, Soojin felt her determination grow. She wanted to prove him wrong. She needed to prove him wrong. And it looked like Shuhua felt the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 6! hope you all enjoy it! there is lots of set up in this chapter that will pay off soon
> 
> if you noticed, i changed the chapter number again from 7 to 9. the plot hasn't been extended from the original plan, per se, but i just needed to split up the next chapters a bit more than i thought (for cliffhanger reasons).
> 
> another reminder: if you dont know yet, im on twitter now! follow for updates and previews! https://twitter.com/beneaththemask6


	7. Sweet Lillies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything falls apart

Soojin already missed Jeju. The freedom of the sea was refreshing, but now she felt claustrophobic within the glass and stone of the city. She had lived in Seoul almost her whole life, but it felt almost foreign now after getting used the cool ocean breeze for the past month.

While Jeju was still holding onto the tail end of autumn, Seoul was already plunged deep into winter. The city was grey and cold, unlike the golden shine of the island. She didn’t realize how attached she had gotten to the salt and sand until they had left. She wished she was sitting by the fireplace in the boathouse, tea in one hand and the other running through Shuhua’s long black hair.

Instead, she was sitting in Sungho’s minimalistic lobby at Park Tower, waiting for him to finish a phone call. The secretary smiled at her behind the desk, and Soojin made sure to send back an equally sweet one. Now that they were back in public, the Park family weren’t the only ones she had to charm. Her personal life was a mess, but she couldn’t forget the basics of her job. She needed the whole city to think she was the kind and polite fiancée of one of the richest heirs in the country.

Soojin had moved back into the guest room in Sungho’s apartment, and she was thankful she no longer had to share a bed with him. She was less thankful that Shuhua’s own apartment wasn’t close by, causing them to barely see each during the past week. They had been texting quite often, but Soojin tried her best to keep it professional, despite Shuhua’s flirty messages. They needed to focus on finding the will, and Soojin didn’t want to be distracted by any teasing photos Shuhua boldly sent her at night. The girl was determined to ruin Soojin’s discipline, and Soojin wished she could say she was immune, but she wasn’t as strong as she hoped. She would never admit that to Shuhua, however.

Sungho had called her to his office for a quick meeting between phone calls, and she was sure he was still not going to tell her about the will while also trying to get as much information out of her as possible. He thought he was so clever, and Soojin needed to take advantage of that cockiness.

When she was finally called into his office, she did her best to steel herself for their conversation. She couldn’t slip up now.

Sungho seemed much more relaxed today than Soojin had seen him in weeks. It sent a chill down her spine to see him smile as he leaned back in his chair. She took her seat and waited for him to start. The perfectly staged flowers decorating the office made the room smell sickly sweet, and Soojin was beginning to feel claustrophobic. The white and red petals made the vases look like they were stained with blood, the only colour in the grey monochrome office.

“How are you doing today, Soojin? Happy to be back in the city?” Sungho fidgeted with his fancy pen, twirling it between his fingers.

“It’s nice to be back somewhere familiar.” Soojin said coolly.

“I’m not a big fan of Jeju anymore, you know. I would rather stay in Seoul than go back again. It’s gotten too…hmmm… provincial for my tastes. You understand, right?”

Soojin wasn’t surprised. Sungho seemed like someone who thrived off of the chaos of the city, where he had countless underlings to do everything for him.

“It’s much more rural than I’m used to.” Soojin responded curtly.

“Well, we don’t have much time, so let’s get to the heart of the matter. Do you have any new information for me about my mother or sister?” Sungho’s eyes turned focused again, cutting into her own gaze. Soojin remembered the words she had rehearsed earlier.

“I haven’t spoken privately to your sister since we returned, so nothing new there. But I have noticed your mother searching around the mansion when I went to visit her. She seemed frazzled.”

“Did she?” The edges of Sungho’s lips twitched into a smile.

“Yes. And she’s been preoccupied during our conversations. Like her mind is somewhere else.”

Sungho looked pleased with her report.

“You can continue keeping an eye on her, but also know it’s no longer a priority.”

Soojin was taken aback. Sungho had been pressuring her to watch Taeha for weeks, but now it wasn’t a priority? He must know something that she doesn’t.

“What should I focus on now instead?”

“Just keep her distracted. She’s probably up to something, so you only need to slow her down.”

“Ok.” Soojin tried to sound nonchalant, but Sungho must have heard the confusion in her voice.

“Don’t worry too much about it. Everything is working out well for us right now. Trust me.”

Soojin hated how he used ‘us’ when he spoke. She didn’t want to be included in his plans, but she couldn’t say no. She only nodded, and he continued.

“I think we make a great team, Soojin.” Sungho’s 1000 watt smile returned, and Soojin was sure it could charm any socialite within a 100-mile radius. For Soojin, it only made her feel even more wary.

“Do we?”

“Of course! Maybe I can hire you permanently. As an employee of course, not as my wife.” He laughed, like it was nothing. Soojin kept a straight face to hide her disgust.

“You have helped me greatly these past two months, and I’m sure I can find a good position for you. Your persuasion and social skills would be invaluable to the company.”

“What about our engagement then?” Soojin couldn’t understand how Sungho thought she would come work for him. She couldn’t pretend to be his fiancée forever.

“It wouldn’t be the first time that exes work together, Soojin. We would have an amicable break up but continue working as CEO and employee. Just think about it. You could make more money in my company in a month than you make at your job in five years. And you wouldn’t have to escort pathetic old men anymore.”

Soojin felt anger burn through her as Sungho laughed. He was a sexist, rich brat who deserved to be put in his place. She wished she tell him how she really felt about him, but she knew she couldn’t. She pushed her feelings deep down and put on a fake smile.

“I’ll think about it.”

“I’ll be looking forward to hearing your answer.”

It made sense that Sungho wanted to keep her under his thumb, leaving no loose ends after his plan carried out. He thought he could control everything around him just because he had the money and power that very few ever obtained. But not a single dollar in his account came from his own hard work. It was something he was born into; a golden spoon that tainted his mouth and heart. Soojin had many grievances with her own parents, from their neglect to their greediness, but she was glad they raised her with at least some semblance of empathy. Or at least gave her enough room to develop her own compassion. Sungho was spoiled from the very day he was born, and the combination of overindulgence and resent from the man who was supposed to be his father cause something in him to turn rotten.

Sungho was much like the expensive flowers that surrounded them. They were beautiful and flawless at first appearance—filling the room with their presence—but after enough time passed, they became withered and cloying, showing how shallow their façade really was. 

“Anything else?” Soojin asked, ready to leave Sungho’s suffocating presence.

“One thing,” Sungho said as he stood up and made his way to the door to open it for her.

“Just remember this, Soojin; _All warfare is based on deception_. It’s the only path to victory, so don’t feel so guilty about all this. You understand?”

Sungho spoke to her like she was a clueless idiot. She knew The Art of War better than most, and Sungho certainly was no expert. A true master would notice the knife currently pointing at his back, held by his own loving sister. Soojin knew Shuhua had to wield it well and stay patient. The truth would cut him down soon enough, they just had to make sure they weren’t also taken down with him.

“I understand.”

Soojin left the office with determination flowing through her veins. She needed to speak to Taeha.

* * *

This time, Taeha met with her in the art room, one of the many rooms in the Park Manor that Soojin hadn’t seen yet. She had to wait a few days to meet with the older woman due to the countless meetings Taeha had set up for her for the wedding planning. She had told Taeha that she wasn’t quite ready to start planning yet, but Taeha had been insistent, telling her that the “wedding of the decade” needed to be arranged as far in advance as possible. Taeha seemed almost anxious about it, like she knew time was running out. Maybe she felt it in the air, or maybe she knew more than she seemed to know. Either way, Soojin had no choice but to be a good future daughter-in-law and go meet with the caterers and flower arrangers when she should have been searching for the will instead.

Soojin never imagined getting married, not even as a young girl, so all of it seemed alien to her. She had to fake excitement—which would usually be easy for her—but the growing weight of her phone in her pocket, filled with texts to both Shuhua and Sungho, made her feel like she was a cheater. She wasn’t sure which sibling she was really cheating on, but the guilt still made her heart feel heavy.

Soojin always thought she was the kind of person who understood her own emotions and could control them easily, but now she knew it was only because she was living life without feeling anything. She went from one assignment to another, never finding any deeper emotions within herself while she pretended to be someone else. Now, after meeting Sungho and Shuhua, not a day has gone by without almost losing control of all these new emotions she was experiencing, from sadness to frustration to yearning. She wasn’t sure how she was going to return back her normal life after this assignment was finished, but she also wasn’t sure that she wanted to. She did her best to push these new feelings down, because she had a task to focus on. She could deal with it later.

After their meeting earlier that week, Sungho had been strangely absent. He often wasn’t home when Soojin went to sleep, and she rarely ever saw him in the morning either. She wondered what he was up to and how it related to what he told her. She was growing worried, which is why she needed to speak to Taeha.

The art room was just as beautifully decorated as the rest of the mansion, obviously a point of pride for Taeha. The room was filled with half-finished canvases, with flowers and graceful female figures filling up most of them. Soojin wasn’t surprised that Taeha was a skilled painter. The watercolors fit her well and the elegant strokes looked like they were done by an expert. No wonder Taeha and Jinhyung were in love at one time, they were both accomplished artists. She wondered what their marriage was like at first, when they were both broke and in love. It was sad to know how it all ended.

“Soojin!” Taeha waved her towards where she was sitting in the corner of the room, buried among the canvases. She had set out tea on the table and Soojin came to sit across from her.

“How are you doing today, _eomeonim_?”

“I’m doing better now that you’ve joined me, Soojin. How have the wedding meetings been?”

“They’ve been very informative. I never really realized how many different types of silverware existed until this week.” Soojin said with a laugh and Taeha soon joined her.

“I know it’s all a bit stuffy, but you’ll be happy that you started planning now. Weddings are even more stressful than funerals, in my opinion. So many more details and people to please.”

Soojin laughed again, but this time it was genuine. Her and Taeha seemed to agree on at least one thing. Soojin hoped she wouldn’t have to go to another wedding for a long time, especially not her own.

“I’m curious, Soojin. Have you and Sungho decided where you will live after you get married? I’m still hoping you’ll decide to stay in Korea.” Taeha said as she sipped her tea.

“We’re not sure yet. We’ve always wanted to open the vineyard in Italy, but I’ve really been falling in love with Korea these past few weeks. Maybe we can split our time between Italy and here?”

“That sounds like a wonderful plan. I would love to come visit you in Italy. I haven’t been there in years, and when I was, I was too busy filming to be able to enjoy the sights. Have you decided what type of house you want to build for the vineyard?”

Soojin was getting back into the groove, lies naturally flowing from her mouth. She felt so off recently, so she was happy her basic skills hadn’t fully disappeared.

“Not yet, but Sungho and I have looked at a few classic designs that seem to fit our tastes and blend in with the landscape. I might need some advice for you for the decorating though, since you have such a good eye. Did you design the mansion yourself?”

“After we got married, Jinhyung and I actually lived in his father’s office for a few months, since we didn’t have enough money for an apartment. He always promised me that one day we would have our own house for our family. Years later, when we eventually had enough money to build our own house, Jinhyung allowed me to design most of it to my taste.”

Taeha’s eyes shone with emotion as she continued.

“Most of it except for the courtyard.”

“Oh really?” Soojin was surprised. The courtyard seemed to fit Taeha the most of all the places in the mansion, like it was an extension of herself.

“My husband built me the courtyard garden as a surprise. Out of gratitude, I assume. For sticking by him through every high and low. The flora was brought in from exotic locations abroad, and the garden furniture was hand-made. Jinhyung even designed the walkway with a famous stonemason that he had hired. It took months to complete, but Jinhyung only wanted the finest work to complete the courtyard, since it was the heart of the house—according to his words.”

Taeha sighed, lost in memories.

“After we finally divorced, I thought Jinhyung would make me leave the mansion once and for all, but instead he allowed me to stay with Sungho here while he moved to Taiwan to be with his mistress. Those were difficult years, all alone by myself in the house that was built for our family...”

“It must have been so hard to raise Sungho alone.” Soojin said, reaching over to put a comforting hand on Taeha’s own. The older woman gave her a warm smile before continuing.

“It was. And after that woman passed away, Jinhyung came back to Korea with Shuhua, begging me to help raise her. I didn’t want to at first, but the girl grew on me over time. I know my relationship with my children will never be perfect, but I hope I did well enough for them to want to keep me in their lives once they have their own families. I hope they see this house as their home too, even though Jinhyung has left us.”

Taeha brushed away a few loose tears, and Soojin felt her own heart be swayed by the older woman’s words. Life and love were so much more complicated than she ever realised, and the messiness of it all was the true experience of life. Soojin had hid herself from real life for so long that she never got to experience the ups and down of love like Taeha had.

“I’m sure both of them appreciate everything you did. No one is perfect, but it’s never too late to make up for past mistakes. Happiness is something you have to fight for.”

Taeha squeezed Soojin’s hand as she smiled sadly back at her.

“I would do anything to make my family happy. You understand, right?”

Taeha’s words and speech patterns were so similar to Sungho’s, but the sentiments were as different as possible. Sungho did everything to benefit himself, while Taeha was a lioness who would go to any length to keep her family protected. She had the perfect image of her family carved in her heart, and no matter how messy her family became, Taeha would try her hardest to keep them within their perfect molds. Soojin was now finally understanding the older woman. Everything she did, from adopting Shuhua to sending Sungho away from his resentful father, was to protect her family in her own eyes. How cheating on Jinhyung fit into that, Soojin didn’t know, but she was sure there was more to the story than she knew. Taeha didn’t seem lustful or particularly cruel, so she wondered what the reason behind her lying really was. The ends didn’t always justify the means, but Soojin was sure Taeha wasn’t as malicious as Sungho made her out to be.

“I understand.”

This time she really did. Taeha gave her an empathetic nod, and Soojin felt like something had shifted between them. An understanding of sorts had come to bloom, and she felt sorry for the woman who had already loved and lost before Soojin even knew what the word really meant.

After they finished their tea and Soojin left the mansion, she took out her phone and texted Shuhua right away, asking her if they could meet up. Shuhua texted back soon after, inviting Soojin to her apartment so they could have privacy to talk. Soojin was surprised that Shuhua was finally letting her come to her apartment, and she felt herself get excited at seeing where Shuhua lived. She hailed a cab and made her way to the address Shuhua had sent her.

* * *

The first thing Soojin noticed when she entered Shuhua’s apartment was the barking. She was just about to greet Shuhua when she felt two balls of fluff launch themselves at her, jumping up and down. Soojin could barely get her shoes off before the two dogs demanded all of her attention. She leaned down to pet them and heard Shuhua laugh as she watched.

“I’m sorry. They just really like people.”

Soojin was enjoying the love the dogs were giving her, despite her initial surprise.

“Are these Haku and Mata? They’re adorable.”

“I’m surprised you remembered their names. Our first walk together feels like so long ago...”

After the past two months of family drama, it really did feel like a lifetime ago when they walked under the gingko trees together. Soojin was happy Shuhua didn’t look at her with the same resentment anymore.

“I try not to forget things that pretty girls tell me.” Soojin said smoothly, causing Shuhua to blush.

“You haven’t even taken your coat off yet and you’re already flirting with me.” Shuhua said as she leaned down to scoop up the puppies.

“I haven’t seen you in a week, so I saved up all my flirting for today.”

Shuhua led her through the front hallway to the main living space. The apartment was small and cozy, quite different than the airy and cold nature of the Park mansion. It was near the university where Shuhua was doing her graduate studies, and it overlooked a beautiful park. It was decorated in the same warm earthy tones as Shuhua’s room in the boathouse, but the decorations were more mature and coordinated than her childhood room. It looked like a normal upper class student apartment to the untrained eye, but Soojin could pick out the inconspicuous luxury items around the room. The imported leather chairs, custom made coffee table, and priceless art on the walls stood out like sore thumbs to someone trained like Soojin. Shuhua couldn’t fully hide her lineage, despite her constant attempts to distance herself from her family legacy.

Shuhua led her to the couch in her living room, letting the dogs free again once Soojin got settled. Haku settled on Shuhua’s legs while Mata moved to Soojin’s lap and asked for a belly rub.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“I finally met with Taeha today.” Soojin said as she petted the puppy in her lap.

“And what did she say? Get any new clues?”

“I don’t know. We mostly spoke about the mansion and her designs for it. Your father and her seem to have a lot of history there.”

“They used to call it their masterpiece.” Shuhua added

“She didn’t give me any direct hints at where the will might be. We might have to search the whole mansion for it.”

“Do you think she’s searching for it too?” Shuhua asked as she played with Haku’s paws.

“I’m not sure about that either. She doesn’t seem to care much about the company, but she would do anything to keep her home. If she suspected that Jinhyung was giving the mansion to someone else, she would have a motive, but right now she doesn’t seem like a threat.”

“Are you sure?”

“Taeha just seems… regretful. And sad. I don’t get any feelings of ill intentions from her. Just a woman who wishes things were different.”

Soojin could relate.

“How did you get so good at reading people? It’s like you can see right through everyone.” Shuhua asked it innocently, but Soojin still felt her heart rate pick up. Another reminder of her lies.

“I guess it’s just something I’ve always been good at.” Soojin answered vaguely, hoping to brush it aside. Her ability to read people was getting a bit too close to her job description for her liking. To change the subject, Soojin spoke up again.

“What about you? I mean, how have you been doing? I’ve been worried about you.” Soojin knew Shuhua had been just as busy as she had been this week, but they hadn’t gotten to catch up yet.

“I’ve been ok,” Shuhua said with a sigh before leaning on Soojin’s shoulder. The puppies decided that they were annoyed at not getting enough attention anymore and jumped off the couch, chasing each other into the kitchen. Soojin took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Shuhua’s waist and pull her closer. It was obvious the other woman needed some comforting.

“Just been sorting through some of my dad’s stuff in between classes. I didn’t realize how many hobbies he had. Why does someone need so many model planes?” Shuhua said it with a small laugh, but it was obvious that going through her father’s possessions was an emotionally difficult task for her.

“Could you hire someone to help you?” Soojin intertwined her fingers between Shuhua’s own, playing with her fingertips as they talked.

“Taeha offered to hire someone, but I told her that I’d rather do it myself. Some things you need to do with your own hands. Plus, we might find another hint about the will if I search hard enough.”

“That’s true.” Soojin replied, already deep in thought. Would Jinhyung hide more hints among his things? Or would that be too risky? While he was on his deathbed, how much did he plan ahead?

“How about you? Are you doing ok, Soojin? You’ve been more quiet than usual.”

Shuhua must have noticed her expression, so Soojin squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“I’m just tired. All the wedding stuff and searching has been draining me. I wish we could just have a whole day off to spend with each other.”

Shuhua turned her head, meeting Soojin’s eyes.

“I can try make you feel better.”

Shuhua leaned forward, capturing Soojin’s lips in a sweet kiss. Soojin appreciated the delicate way Shuhua handled her. Soojin let herself linger it in for a moment. It felt like time was running out for them, and Soojin wanted to memorize Shuhua’s touch before everything fell apart. Soojin wished things were different; she wished they had bumped into each other at a coffeeshop or gone on a blind date, but she had to accept that this was how their story went. With a foundation built on lies. Eventually her guilt caught up with her, and she gently pushed Shuhua back by the shoulders.

“Shuhua… can we just talk tonight?”

Shuhua pulled back, a guilty expression on her face.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No. Not at all. I just think we need to take it slow until this is over.”

Shuhua nodded, but it was still understandable that she was feeling a little rejected. To sooth her, Soojin pulled her closer and leaned back against the couch. Shuhua snuggled up against her side, and Soojin felt herself smile.

“What should we do instead?”

“A board-game?” Soojin deadpanned, and she felt Shuhua thrash against her, a cute pout on her face.

“You would rather play a board game than kiss me?”

Soojin let out the laugh she was holding in and Shuhua pouted even more.

“I was just teasing you,” Soojin said with a smile, and Shuhua couldn’t help but smile back.

“I honestly just want to talk with you. We never seem to have enough time to ourselves.”

Shuhua nodded in agreement. “I know. There’s so much more I want to know about you, but I always feel like we’re stealing moments just to be close.”

“I guess we will have to be thieves again tonight, then.” Soojin giggled at her own clever line, and Shuhua looked completely charmed.

“You can stay over tonight, if you want. I’m sure we can come up with a good lie tomorrow.”

“Would that be ok?”

Soojin didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. Staying over at the apartment of the sister of the ‘fiancée’ she was betraying was a risky move, even more so since they were already sleeping together. But Shuhua nodded, so Soojin tentatively continued.

“Since Sungho hasn’t been home in a few days, it might be ok if I stay over…”

Shuhua let out a little cheer, and Soojin wondered how someone could be so cute.

They got cleaned up for bed and Shuhua even let her borrow an extra pair of pajamas to use for the night. It felt strangely domestic, and Soojin couldn’t believe she had allowed herself to fall this far. She would slap herself if she wasn’t already too busy watching Shuhua put her dogs to sleep, admiring how sweet she was to the balls of fluff. Her heart, so tightly locked to the outside world, had somehow been infiltrated by a woman who didn’t even know the power she had over Soojin. She had really lost her touch, Soojin realized.

Shuhua beckoned Soojin over to the bed, and they cuddled up together under the sheets. Shuhua clinged onto Soojin’s side as she rested her head on the older woman’s chest, slipping one of her hands under Soojin’s pajama shirt to rest against her warm skin.

“So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Hmm…” Soojin took a moment to think. What did she want to know about Shuhua?

“What was your favorite thing to do with your father when you were younger?” Soojin thought that maybe talking about her good memories with her father would help Shuhua process it, especially after having to go through all his things this week.

Shuhua hummed, trying to think of the best answer.

“We did a lot of different things together, but some of the best memories I have are from laying on the beach with him at night and learning about the different constellations. In Seoul and Taipei, it was always too polluted to see the stars, but every time we went down to Jeju, my dad would make sure that I memorized each constellation. It wasn’t anything special, but it was it was always so much fun just to spend time with him alone without Taeha or constant business meetings hovering over us. I’ll never forget that time with him.”

“Your father must have really loved you.” If it was anyone else, Soojin would certainly feel a small pang of jealousy, wishing her own father cared for her like that. But with Shuhua, Soojin was happy the younger woman had these memories with her father before he passed. Memories were all they had in the end, after all.

“He was always so busy, but I think he always took advantage of the small amount of time we had together. I’ll always be grateful to him for that.” Shuhua sighed, but it wasn’t sad. It sounded more like relief, like she had been holding in these memories for too long and finally felt lighter after letting them out.

“It’s your turn now. Ask me anything.” Soojin said, wanting to give Shuhua the same opportunity.

It didn’t take long for Shuhua to ask her own question.

“Did you ever love my brother? Or was it all a front?” Shuhua asked softly, and Soojin couldn’t fault her for wondering.

Still, Soojin had to tread carefully. She still wasn’t ready to tell Shuhua the truth, but she was also laying in bed with her when she should be with her fiancée instead. The girl deserved at least a half-truth.

“I thought I loved him, until I found out what kind of person he really was. I realized I was forcing myself to fall in love. But love isn’t something you can fake.”

Soojin hoped it was vague enough to sound truthful. She didn’t want Shuhua to think she was still in love with Sungho, but she also wanted the engagement to sound legitimate as well. She wasn’t sure how Shuhua would act if she found out Soojin was a hired actress that was meant to trick her and Taeha. She would probably kick her out of bed, at least, and Soojin really didn’t want to leave the warm sheets.

Soojin was a deeply selfish person, and she would be the very first one to admit it. But she really didn’t want Shuhua to hate her.

“What does love feel like?” Shuhua asked as she played with Soojin’s fingers.

Soojin took a moment to think. She wasn’t sure she knew either, but she tried her best. Shuhua had asked her a similar question when they first met, and Soojin had to lie through her teeth. But this time, she wouldn’t steal cheesy lines from dramas to trick Shuhua. This time, she felt the words emerge from deep in her heart.

“I think love is like gravity. It slowly pulls you in, and sooner than you know, your whole life revolves around that person. Your sun rises and sets depending on them. And no matter how close you are, all you want is to get even closer.”

Soojin never understood love until the words came tumbling out of her mouth. She surprised herself by how earnest her feelings were right now.

“Have you ever felt that?” Shuhua asked so quietly that Soojin almost didn’t hear her.

“I’m… I’m not sure. Have you?”

Shuhua hummed.

“When I was in high school, there was an older girl I thought was so pretty. She used to buy me snacks and walk me home from school. She had a boyfriend, but that didn’t matter to me at all. She was so kind and always made me feel special. When she graduated, I was heartbroken. I heard she got married a few years ago. I didn’t understand when I was younger, but now I know that I had feelings for her. I don’t think it was love yet, but it was something close to it. The potential of love, maybe.”

The way Shuhua spoke about the girl was bittersweet. Soojin understood that feeling well. When she was younger, she went through similar emotions a few times, but no love ever bloomed from those relationships. Love was elusive, always just out of reach.

Soojin moved her hand to brush through Shuhua’s hair. She felt the younger girl wiggle closer and tighten her arms around her waist. _This might not be love,_ Soojin thought, but she couldn’t imagine anything she wanted more than Shuhua’s comforting touch. A few moments passed with them just enjoying each other’s presence, thinking about the emotions they felt that were impossible to name.

“What do you want to do after all this is over?”

Soojin took a moment to really think about it. She wasn’t usually one to plan for the future, but she didn’t want to come up empty handed.

“I want to go back to the ocean. I want to go swimming and forget what time it is and be covered in sunburns and sand when I finally head inside. I want to go to sleep and then do it all again the next day.”

“That sounds romantic. And painful.” Shuhua said with a giggle.

Soojin didn’t want to get her hopes up, so she didn’t include Shuhua in her future plans. Shuhua, on the other hand, wasn’t so cautious.

“I want to go on vacation somewhere warm too. I’ve never gone anywhere outside of Korea and Taiwan, so I want to see somewhere new. Maybe we can go to Hawaii or Thailand. I’ll take you to the beach and we can swim together. I’ll buy you everything you want to eat from the markets, and we can get matching couple clothes to wear around. We can stay up until sunrise and sleep-in past noon.”

The excitement in Shuhua’s voice shone through as she spoke.

“That would be really nice.” Soojin said, hoping her own voice wouldn’t break.

Soojin was suddenly holding back tears. She wanted to travel with Shuhua so badly, but she felt their time was running out. She knew that if she wanted it too much, it would all be taken away from her. Her heart hurt as she listened to Shuhua plan out their dream vacation.

“We’ll have to figure out how to bring Haku and Mata too though… Maybe we can find some dog friendly hotels… Do you think they would be ok on an airplane?” Shuhua trailed off, deep in thought about their imaginary vacation. Soojin couldn’t stop the pain blooming in her heart.

“I’m not sure…”

“Well, as long as we’re together, it’ll be perfect anyways.” Shuhua turned to smile at her, and at that moment, Soojin hated herself more than anything.

Soojin leaned over to lay a kiss on Shuhua’s lips in an attempt to stop the aching she felt, and the younger woman melted into her despite her initial surprise. When Soojin finally pulled back, she rested her forehead on Shuhua’s and closed her eyes.

“As long as we’re together.”

* * *

They headed over to the mansion early the next morning, and Soojin’s heart felt even heavier than the night before. Shuhua treated her so kindly when she stayed over, which only made her guilt worse. Every time Shuhua smiled sweetly at her, Soojin felt overwhelming shame.

Still, Soojin did her best to push those thoughts aside, because they had a mission today. This time they began their search in Jinhyung’s office, searching high and low for the will. Soojin knew that Sungho was busy with business meetings all morning, while Taeha had a dermatology appointment until noon. Taeha had invited Shuhua and Soojin to lunch afterwards, so they had a few hours alone to search before they had to meet up with her.

Soojin moved to the bookshelves while Shuhua searched the desk. Soojin had a lot of experience searching though things she wasn’t supposed to, so she moved quickly and efficiently. She looked through books, photo albums, and folders, but nothing interesting came out until a piece of metal fell out of a folder she was looking at and clanged onto the ground. Soojin leaned down to pick it up off of the hardwood floor, hoping it didn’t leave a scuff.

“What’s this?” Soojin asked, holding the round medal out for Shuhua to see.

“Oh, it’s my Taekwondo trophy from middle school. My dad always wanted me to be a blackbelt, but I got injured pretty early on and had to quit. He was still proud though, I guess. I didn’t know he still had it.”

Soojin carefully put back the medal and kept searching. Shuhua must have finished her search of the desk, because she moved behind Soojin, brushing past her as she went to inspect the left side of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves while Soojin worked on the right side for the next ten minutes.

Soojin was fully focused, but it was apparent that Shuhua was quickly becoming bored, from her restless feet to the little hums she would let out while looking at an uninteresting book she found on the shelf.

After a few minutes, Shuhua brushed up against her back again as she shuffled past again, this time boldly grazing Soojin’s backside with her hand.

“Are you doing that on purpose?” Soojin said with a raised eyebrow. She knew Shuhua was bold, but she didn’t think the girl was going to try this here. They had only been searching the office for forty-five minutes, and still hadn’t found anything. They had more important things to focus on than their hormones.

Shuhua apparently didn’t share the same opinion, however.

“I don’t think my dad hid anything here in his office. It would be too obvious.” Shuhua said, pushing forward until the backs of Soojin’s thighs hit the edge of the large wooden desk. 

“So?” Soojin said, trying to stand her ground as Shuhua pushed forward.

“So? I think we need to plan to search another room on another day. Which means we have some time to burn until our lunch date with Taeha...”

“And how would you like to burn that time?” Soojin challenged. She told Shuhua she wanted to take it slow until they found the will, but the pull the younger girl had on her was already making her want to break her own rule. They both behaved last night during their sleepover, but Soojin could feel her resolve slipping. Shuhua had leaned forward into her space, placing her hands on the edge of the desk behind Soojin, trapping her just like she trapped her against the sink on the fishing boat. Soojin hated how much power Shuhua had over her, but didn’t dare to move.

“I can think of a few ways.” Shuhua said with a mischievous grin before fully pressing her body against Soojin’s own. Soojin felt a shiver go down her spine as Shuhua eyed her, looking like she was planning the best way to destroy Soojin’s self-control. _It wasn’t necessary,_ Soojin thought. Shuhua already had her wrapped around her finger.

Shuhua moved her hands to grasp the back of Soojin’s thighs, pulling her up so she was sitting on the edge of the mahogany table. Shuhua moved between her legs, pressing her own hips against Soojin’s.

“It’s unfair how beautiful you are.” Shuhua said as she looked down at Soojin, hands sneaking under Soojin’s tight black skirt to rest on her bare thighs. A small voice in the back of Soojin’s head wondered if Shuhua was only attracted to her because she was already taken. Forbidden fruit and all that.

In the end, it didn’t really matter why Shuhua was attracted to her, especially now as the woman moved one of her hands up to caress Soojin’s face. Her gaze was piercing, and Soojin felt her body heat up under Shuhua’s inspection. She couldn’t believe she was letting Shuhua do this to her in a place they could easily be caught, but her rationality had flown out the window the moment Shuhua pinned her against the desk.

Shuhua traced two of her fingertips against Soojin’s lips, trying her best to memorize Soojin just by touch. Soojin wanted to have at least some semblance of power during this exchange, so she surprised Shuhua by pulling her fingers into her mouth, sucking on them gently as their eyes met. Shuhua’s eyes went wide, surprised by Soojin’s boldness. She let out a moan as Soojin licked and nipped at her fingers. When she was finally done, Shuhua pulled her shaky hand away, obviously not prepared for Soojin to challenge her like that. To take the power back, Shuhua decided to unbutton Soojin’s white button up, slowly revealing the white lace bra she wore underneath.

When Soojin got dressed that morning, looking at the endless choices in Shuhua’s walk in closet, she chose clothes that would look classy and fashionable. She settled on the white blouse and black pencil skirt, and thought it was a good choice for her lunch date with Taeha. She didn’t realize that her choice would also make her body so easily accessible to Shuhua’s wandering hands.

“You don’t like it slow, do you?” Soojin teased as Shuhua pushed her skirt up, bunching it around her upper thighs and revealing her matching white lace underwear. Soojin had to tease Shuhua or else she would be overwhelmed by her own embarrassment. She hoped Shuhua wouldn’t notice the dark stain on the white lace.

“Well, since you’re wearing my clothes, I have the right to take them back.” Shuhua responded cheekily. Soojin sighed dramatically at Shuhua’s cheesy line, but soon shut up when the girl slipped her fingers into her underwear.

Shuhua was a quick learner and knew right away how to make Soojin feel like she was losing control. She finally kissed Soojin, languid tongues and heavy breathing as Shuhua pushed her fingers inside. Her pace was strong and steady, and Soojin could tell Shuhua was exerting a lot of self-control not to go as hard and fast as she wanted. Soojin rewarded Shuhua’s discipline by wrapping her arms around her neck and bringing her in for an even deeper kiss. When Shuhua changed the angle of her fingers, Soojin had to pull back from the kiss to catch her breath.

“Ah, Ah, Shuhua. Right there.” Soojin could feel herself quickly reaching her peak. Shuhua’s touch set fire to her whole body, and she was ready to let go. They didn’t have much time, so it was better to get this over with quickly anyways. However, when she was just about to go over the edge, Shuhua suddenly stilled her fingers.

“My brother never touched you like this, did he?”

Shuhua said it lightly, but there was still some bite to it. Soojin was putty in her hands, desperate for her to start again, so she was vulnerable to a question like this. It was obvious Shuhua wouldn’t move her fingers until Soojin answered, and any attempt to move her own hips was stalled by Shuhua’s other hand pushing down on her thigh. Soojin gave in after a few moments.

Soojin could have lied, could have said that Sungho had touched her before. It wouldn’t have been strange, as it was expected that you would know the touch of your lover far before any proposals or marriage contracts. They shared the same bed and weren’t afraid of public displays of affection. They were young and rich and in love. Of course, to the outside world, they’ve already had sex before. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. So, she probably should have said yes. It would have been better to lie and live up to those assumptions.

_Yes, Sungho has touched me_. _Yes, he brought me pleasure before. Yes, he’s been inside me, just like you are right now._

But Soojin couldn’t lie.

“No, no. He never did.”

“Good.”

Shuhua seemed to be satisfied with that answer, not even taking a moment to question it, and returned her fingers to where Soojin most needed them.

After their tense moment of challenge, Soojin was so wound up that it only took Shuhua a few more strokes to push her over the edge. Soojin clutched the back of Shuhua’s sweater in her hands as she came, burying her face in the younger woman’s neck as the feeling overwhelmed her body. Shame and pleasure mixed together as her mind went blank. Shuhua let Soojin curl her body around her own, supporting Soojin through her moment of weakness. It was cruel, what Shuhua had made her admit, but Soojin deserved it.

Soojin rested her head on Shuhua’s shoulder as she caught her breath. She hated herself for letting Shuhua take care of her like this, but she didn’t have the willpower to say no. She lay a soft kiss on Shuhua’s neck, hoping her silent apologies to the girl would be enough to save her soul from the inevitable judgement day that was quickly approaching.

But just as she was ready to finally meet Shuhua’s gaze, in the corner of her eye, Soojin noticed something sticking out from behind one of the marble busts.

“Wait, Shuhua.”

On one of the cabinets in the back of the room, hidden behind a series of marble busts, was a white business card. Soojin pushed Shuhua away and quickly fixed her clothes before she moved forward to grab it, trying her best not to knock over the expensive statues.

After a moment of struggle, she finally grasped it. Soojin moved back, sitting on the desk once again to read the card. When she saw the name on the business card, she felt shock run through her body.

This was bad. Really bad.

“Shuhua, come here.”

Shuhua shuffled over, still slightly dazed from their tense moment together, and peered at the card in Soojin’s hand.

“What is it?”

Soojin read the name printed in gold letters.

_Im Shiwon and Associates._

To any normal person, it looked like an ordinary law firm. It even had some above-board lawyers working there to legitimize the business. They worked with some mid-sized companies around Seoul and had a good reputation.

But Soojin knew the truth about it. She was one of their most frequent clients, after all.

“This is a front for a forgery business. They work with some of the most dangerous people in Seoul.”

This card no doubt belonged to Sungho. And if Sungho was in contact with this law firm, there was something more going on. This was really bad. She wished she could call Soyeon right now and ask her if she could look into it, but Soojin knew she couldn’t until she was in private. Right now, she had to deal with this on her own with Shuhua’s ever present gaze on her.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that Sungho is planning to do something big. They specialize in false legal documents, and with a missing will…” Soojin trailed off, hoping Shuhua would understand what she was implying.

“False legal documents? What would he do with that?”

Soojin’s mind raced through the possibilities. Sungho never did things the simple way, so she was sure he had a multi-level plan prepared for this. Nothing was ever easy.

“I’m not sure what his angle is yet, but we need to find out quickly. He could do a lot of damage if we don’t stop him first.”

Soojin made sure to pocket the business card and went to push all the office furniture back into their previous positions, a bit frantically if she had to admit. She didn’t want Sungho to know that they had been poking around in the office. As she was doing her best to clean up as quickly as possible, she suddenly felt Shuhua’s hand on her wrist. She turned to the other woman, wondering why she stopped her.

Shuhua’s dark gaze looked back at her, piercing through her heart. Her eyes were searching for something, and Soojin realized that she might have just ruined everything. Her heart shattered as Shuhua began to speak. The tense mood from before had returned, and wariness had leaked into Shuhua’s voice.

“How do you know about all this?”

Soojin was just about to lie to Shuhua, the one thing that came to her more naturally than breathing. She was going to lie and only delay the inevitable moment that Shuhua would leave her forever.

But before she could, a sudden yell came from the main hall of the mansion, conflict echoing through the house and shattering their moment. They were no longer alone.

* * *

They both ran out of the office, following the yelling until they made it to the second-floor bannister. Soojin looked down at the foyer, where a dozen police detectives were standing.

Soojin and Shuhua glanced at each other, both not believing what was happening.

“Why are they here?”

“I have no idea.” She really didn’t.

“I need to go see what’s happening.” Shuhua said, worry evident in her voice. Soojin nodded, and they quickly made their way down the stairs.

Soojin’s brain was running a mile a minute. _Were the police here for her? Or Sungho? Did something bad happen?_

Taeha had emerged from the hallway just as Soojin and Shuhua walked towards the detectives, making her presence known with the sharp clicks of her heels on the marble floor. She must have just returned from her dermatology appointment. She hadn’t even gotten to take her coat off yet.

“Excuse me, can you please explain why you’ve barged into my home?”

Taeha looked unruffled on the outside, but Soojin could see her hands shaking as she confronted the policemen. The head detective stepped forward, holding out a piece of paper that Soojin wasn’t able to read from her position near the stairs.

“We have an arrest warrant.”

Taeha’s eyes betrayed a moment of shock before shifting back down into a neutral expression.

“An arrest warrant for whom?” Taeha crossed her arms, trying her best to stand tall in front of the intimidating man.

“It’s for you, Choi Taeha.” The detective said as he moved forward, grabbing Taeha by the arm.

“What?!” Taeha could no longer hide her emotions. The detective had taken out hand cuffs and had wrapped them around her wrists where they jangled loudly against her expensive jewelry.

“What are you doing? Don’t touch me!”

“Choi Taeha, you’re under arrest for probate fraud for the forgery of Park Jinhyung’s will and attempting to make a claim on his full estate.”

_Forgery?_ Soojin couldn’t believe it. She was sure the business card had belonged to Sungho, not Taeha. None of this was making sense to her.

“What are you talking about? Where is my lawyer? Where is my son!” Taeha hadn’t looked this upset since Soojin watched her fight with Sungho back in Jeju and it was unsettling to see such a composed woman falling apart in front of her.

Terror filled Taeha’s eyes as the cops escorted her out of her house. She stopped her arguing, quickly realizing it wouldn’t get her anywhere. Instead, she put on a closed expression, like she was blocking out everything out around her.

As she passed by, Taeha’s eyes landed on Shuhua, and Soojin could see the deep shame in them as Taeha realized that Shuhua had witnessed her arrest. Seeing the last parental figure you had left being escorted out in handcuffs for attempting to steal from your dead father was surely a living nightmare for Shuhua, and Taeha seemed to understand that as well.

“I’m so sorry, Shuhua.” Taeha said as she passed, expression full of regret. Shuhua took a step back, still not processing what was happening, and Soojin steadied her by grasping her shoulders. Soojin wanted to say something, anything, to comfort the younger girl, but not a single word came to mind. There was nothing she could do to make this better right now other than staying by Shuhua’s side. Her grip on Shuhua’s shoulders stayed firm as the rest of the detectives filed out, carrying countless papers of evidence they had taken from Taeha’s own office in the mansion. Shuhua stood stock-still the whole time, watching her family home be ransacked as the closest person she had to a mother was escorted into the back of a police car.

The last thing Soojin and Shuhua saw before the front doors shut were the blinding flashes of the paparazzi cameras capturing Taeha’s arrest for the whole country to see.

They had passed the point of no return, and Soojin didn’t know how they could fix it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing this chapter felt like a marathon, buts finally done! two more to go! tell me all your thoughts and feelings, they keep me going :)
> 
> another reminder: if you dont know yet, im on twitter now! follow for updates and previews! https://twitter.com/beneaththemask6

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by the Japanese 'rent a family' industry, if your interested in reading up on it!


End file.
